Investor Alerts and Bulletins

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy warns investors of the significant risks of short-term investing based on social media, especially in volatile markets, and provides tips for long-term investing.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help educate investors about SEC Forms 3, 4, and 5. The federal securities laws require certain individuals (such as officers, directors, and those that hold more than 10% of any class of a company’s securities, together we’ll call, “insiders”) to report purchases, sales, and holdings of their company’s securities by filing Forms 3, 4, and 5.

A company has just released its quarterly earnings. Another company has auditor news that could raise a red flag, and a third company is filing for bankruptcy. Where can you find more facts? Information about these events and many more are found in a document called a current report on Form 8-K.

If you want to follow or invest in a U.S. public company, you can find a wealth of information in the company’s annual report on Form 10-K. Among other things, the 10-K offers a detailed picture of a company’s business, the risks it faces, and the operating and financial results for the fiscal year. Company management also discusses its perspective on the business results and what is driving them.

Whether you separate after only a few years or retire with 20 plus, know the steps you can take to continue to build wealth throughout and after your military career.  Learn more at Investor.gov/military and DoD’s Financial Readiness website.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help educate investors regarding the margin rules that apply to day trading in a Regulation T margin account and to respond to a number of frequently asked questions we have received.

The SEC has recently experienced a significant uptick in tips, complaints, and referrals involving investment scams. The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy urges investors to be on high alert in order to protect themselves and others from becoming victims of investment fraud. Fraudsters use times of uncertainty and change, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, to lure victims into investment scams. Below are tips to help you recognize and avoid frauds like Ponzi schemes, fake CD scams, bogus stock promotions, and community-based financial scams.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) wants to educate investors about investing in SPACs. You may have heard the term SPAC recently referred to in the financial or other news. 

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help educate investors about investing in fractional shares. What are Fractional Shares? A fractional share is when you own less than one full share of a stock or other security.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the National Futures Association (NFA), and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) are issuing this Investor Bulletin to highlight key messages from World Investor Week 2020, a global campaign to raise awareness about the importance of investor education and protection.  From October 5-11, 2020, investors, investment professionals, teachers, parents, researchers, and others are encouraged to make a special ef

After a natural disaster strikes, fraudsters may try to take advantage of individuals who want to help fund recovery efforts or who receive lump sum insurance payouts. Fraudsters may use recent natural disasters, including Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Sally, and the wildfires on the West Coast, to lure victims into investment scams. These scams can take many forms.   

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors information about closed-end funds that are traded on national securities exchanges. It is important to understand them and their risks before investing.  

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors information about business development companies, or BDCs, that are traded on national securities exchanges. It is important to understand them before investing.  

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors information about interval funds. Interval funds are legally classified as closed-end funds, a type of investment company, but they have some distinctive features that make them different from typical closed-end funds. Some important features of interval funds are:                                                              

The FBI Criminal Investigative Division and the Office of Investor Education and Advocacy of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) would like to warn consumers of a recent increase in fraudulent schemes targeting owners of timeshare properties in Mexico. These scams typically involve individuals alleging to be representatives of a brokerage firm, travel agency, title company, or escrow agent making unsolicited contact with owners of timeshare properties. 

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to show investors how to use Investor.gov’s free and easy search tool to help you check out brokers and investment advisers.  Always research an investment professional—including confirming they are registered and whether they’ve had any disciplinary events—before deciding to work with them. 

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors information about the customer or client “relationship summary” (also called Form CRS and Form ADV Part 3) that broker-dealers and investment advisers are required to provide when they offer services to retail investors.

The SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this bulletin to educate investors about indexed annuities. Indexed annuities are complex products. Investors should carefully read the indexed annuity contract, and any prospectus, before deciding whether to buy the annuity.

As a teacher, you have a number of choices to make when investing for retirement. The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help teachers make informed investment decisions, including about 403(b) and 457(b) plans -- tax-advantaged retirement savings programs often offered to teachers of public educational institutions.  More information for teachers is available in our A Guide for Teachers: Saving and Investing for K-12 Educators.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and the Division of Enforcement’s Retail Strategy Task Force urge investors to be mindful when investing in offerings that are broadly advertised.

The CARES Act of 2020 provides significant relief for businesses and individuals affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes allowing retirement investors affected by the coronavirus to gain access to up to $100,000 of their retirement savings without being subject to early withdrawal penalties and with an expanded window for paying the income tax they owe on the amounts they withdraw. Unfortunately, unscrupulous promoters have used these CARES Act benefits to encourage investors to take money from their 401(k)s or traditional IRAs, not for current emergency financial needs, but to buy…

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and the Division of Enforcement’s Retail Strategy Task Force are issuing this Alert to educate Main Street investors about current investment frauds, including scams related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) are issuing this Investor Bulletin to urge you to consider adding a “trusted contact person” to your brokerage account.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors about investment frauds involving claims that a company’s products or services will be used to help stop the coronavirus outbreak.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this alert to urge investors to use caution before investing in so-called “initial exchange offerings” through online trading platforms.