Alerts
One of FINRA's main goals is to protect the investing public. These alerts provide you with information to help you avoid problems in today’s complex world of investing—and to help protect your and your family from investment scams.
Five Tips to Keep Your Military Finances from Going Off a Cliff
While the new year is beginning with improving economic conditions, the financial situation of many Americans remains fragile. Recent changes to the tax code, along with continuing economic uncertainty, make this a challenging year for many consumers and investors. Military families are especially vulnerable due to regular PCS moves, interrupted spouse careers, and frequent deployments. The FINRA Investor Education Foundation has put together 5 tips that can help America's military families successfully navigate changing conditions and avoid a personal financial cliff.
Alerts From Other Organizations
Check out investor alerts from other regulators, agencies and organizations.
Pension or Settlement Income Streams—What You Need to Know Before Buying or Selling Them 
Do you receive a monthly pension? Are you getting regular distributions from a settlement following a personal injury lawsuit? If so, you may be targeted by salespeople offering you a lump sum today to buy the rights to some or all of the payments you would otherwise receive in the future.
Municipal Bonds—Important Considerations for Individual Investors
Municipal securities—including municipal bonds or "muni bonds"—are securities issued by states, cities, counties and other governmental entities to raise money to build roads, schools and a host of other projects. While munis have historically been considered relatively conservative investments, they do, like all bond investments, carry risk.
Duration—What an Interest Rate Hike Could Do to Your Bond Portfolio
If you own bonds or have money in a bond fund, there is a number you should know. It is called duration. Although stated in years, duration is not simply a measure of time. Instead, duration signals how much the price of your bond investment is likely to fluctuate when there is an up or down movement in interest rates. The higher the duration number, the more sensitive your bond investment will be to changes in interest rates.
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529 Plans
Annuities and Insurance
- Pension or Settlement Income Streams—What You Need to Know Before Buying or Selling Them
- Seniors Beware: What You Should Know About Life Settlements
- Equity-Indexed Annuities—A Complex Choice
- Should You Exchange Your Variable Annuity?
- Variable Annuities: Beyond the Hard Sell
- Should You Exchange Your Life Insurance Policy?
Bonds
- Municipal Bonds—Important Considerations for Individual Investors
- Duration—What an Interest Rate Hike Could Do to Your Bond Portfolio
- Structured Notes With Principal Protection: Note the Terms of Your Investment
- Reverse Convertibles—Complex Investment Vehicles
- Auction Rate Securities: What Happens When Auctions Fail
- Catastrophe Bonds and Other Event-Linked Securities
Frauds and Scams
- Nutraceutical Stock Scams—Don’t Supplement Your Portfolio With These Companies
- Email Hack Attack? Be Sure to Notify Brokerage Firms and Other Financial Institutions
- "Gold" Stocks—Some Investments Mine Your Pocketbook
- Investment Scams Follow in the Wake of the Crisis in Japan
- "China" Stocks—Look Beyond the Name Before You Invest
- Pre-IPO Offerings—These Scammers Are Not Your Friends
- "Phishing" and Other Online Identity Theft Scams: Don't Take the Bait
- HYIPs—High Yield Investment Programs Are Hazardous to Your Investment Portfolio
- Oil Spill Stock Scams—Don’t Get Cleaned Out by False Cleanup Claims
- Save Your Greenbacks—Don’t Fall for Green Energy Scams
- Beware of Auction Rate Securities Settlement "Phishing" Scam
- Beware of Fake Check Scams
- Avoiding Investment Scams
- Well-Traveled Fraud—Advance-Fee Scams Target Non-U.S. Investors Using Fake Regulator Websites and False Broker Identities
- Beware of Online Job Classifieds Used to Steal Your Identity
- Keeping Your Account Secure: Tips for Protecting Your Financial Information
- Save Your Energy and Money—Don't Fall for Energy Stock Scams
- "Free Lunch" Investment Seminars—Avoiding the Heartburn of a Hard Sell
- "I hope this is your email" Scam Offers No Hope of Profits
- "Dash" Gov Sites Part of Ploy to Dash Off With Your Money
- Bird Flu Stock Scam Could Be Hazardous to Your Financial Health
- Beware of "Hot" Stock Tips on Your Cell Phone
- Beware of Stock Fraud in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina
- Stock Spams and Scams
- Fears of Anthrax and Terrorism Spawning Investment Scams
Margin and Borrowing
- Investing with Borrowed Funds: No "Margin" for Error
- 100% Mortgages: The Low Down on No Money Down
- Betting the Ranch: Risking Your Home to Buy Securities
- Subordination Agreements—Understand the Risks
Money Management
- Five Tips to Keep Your Military Finances from Going Off a Cliff
- Year-End Investment Considerations for Individual Investors
- Weathering Tough Economic Times—12 Tips for 2012
- Take Control of Your Financial Future: Tips to Think About at Tax Time and Beyond
- Tax Refund Loans—Immediate Gratification at a Steep Price
- Seeking Solid Financial Footing for the Next Decade: 10 Tips for 2010
Mutual Funds & ETFs
- Treasury's Guarantee Program for Money Market Mutual Funds: What You Should Know
- Leveraged and Inverse ETFs: Specialized Products with Extra Risks for Buy-and-Hold Investors
- Systematic Investment Plans—Educate Yourself Before You Enlist
- Net Asset Value Transfers: Look Before You Leap Into Another Mutual Fund
- Mutual Fund Breakpoints: Are You Owed a Refund?
- Class B Mutual Fund Shares: Do They Make the Grade?
- Principal-Protected Funds—Security Has a Price
- Understanding Mutual Fund Classes
- Mutual Fund Breakpoints: A Break Worth Taking
- Funds of Hedge Funds—Higher Costs and Risks for Higher Potential Returns
Private Offerings
Promissory Notes
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS)
Retirement Accounts
- Why Leave Money on the Table—Make the Most of Your Employer's 401(k) Match
- Reverse Mortgages: Avoiding a Reversal of Fortune
- Job Dislocation: Managing the Financial Impact of Unexpected Job Loss
- Weathering Tough Financial Times—The Long-term Costs of Quick Cash
- 401(k) Debit Cards—Think Before You Swipe
- Putting Too Much Stock in Your Company—A 401(k) Problem
- Look Before You Leave: Don't Be Misled By Early Retirement Investment Pitches That Promise Too Much
- Think Twice Before Cashing Out of Your Thrift Savings Plan
- Think Twice Before Cashing Out Your 401(k)
- "Stretch" IRAs—Too Much of a Stretch for You?
Trading Securities
- When Trading Stops: What You Need to Know About Halts, Suspensions and Other Interruptions
- Exchange-Traded Notes—Avoid Unpleasant Surprises
- It Pays to Understand Your Brokerage Account Statements and Trade Confirmations
- Companies in Bankruptcy Rarely Make Blockbuster Investments
- The Grass Isn’t Always Greener—Chasing Return in a Challenging Investment Environment
- Stock-Based Loan Programs: What Investors Need to Know
- 10 Tips to Keep Track of Your Investments
- Investing in a Bankrupt Company: A High Risk Venture
- If a Brokerage Firm Closes Its Doors
- Market Risk: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
- Customer Advisory Centers: Not Your Typical Securities Firm Call Center
- Protect Your Online Brokerage Account: Safety Should Come First When Logging In and Out
- Bearing Up in a Bear Market: You Still Need to Open Your Account Statements