INVESTOR BULLETINS FROM THE SEC

The following SEC Investor Bulletins are excerpts from the SEC web site:

Investor Bulletin: Indexed Annuities
Tuesday, April 26, 2011, 10:17:39 AM
An indexed annuity is a type of contract between you and an insurance company. During the accumulation period, when you make either a lump sum payment or a series of payments, the insurance company credits you with a return that is based on changes in a securities index, such as the S&P 500 Composite Stock Price Index.

Investor Bulletin: Say on Pay and Golden Parachute Votes
Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 10:17:39 AM
The Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help investors understand new rules about shareholder votes on Say on-Pay and golden parachutes. The rules concern three separate non-binding shareholder votes on executive compensation: Say-on-Pay Votes, Frequency Votes and Golden Parachute Disclosures.

Investor Alert: Pre-IPO Investment Scams
Friday, March 18, 2011, 10:17:39 AM
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn you about investment scams that purport to offer investors the opportunity to buy pre-IPO shares of Facebook, Twitter, Groupon, or other popular companies.

Investor Bulletin: Trading Basics
Tuesday, March 08, 2011, 11:17:39 AM
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help educate investors about the different types of orders they can use to buy and sell stocks through a brokerage firm. The following are general descriptions of some of the common order types and trading instructions that investors may use to buy and sell stocks. Please note that some of the order types and trading instructions described below may not be avail-able through all brokerage firms. Furthermore, some brokerage firms may offer additional order types and trading instructions not described below. Investors should contact their brokerage firms to determine which types of orders and trading instructions are available for buying and selling as well the brokerage firms’ specific policies regarding such available orders and trading instructions.

Investor Bulletin: Margin Rules for Day Trading
Tuesday, February 08, 2011, 11:17:39 AM
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.

Investor Bulletin: New Rules Give Customers Option of All Public Arbitration Panels
Thursday, February 03, 2011, 11:17:39 AM
Investor Bulletin: New Rules Give Customers Option of All Public Arbitration Panels

Money Market Funds: Staff Responses to Questions about Information Filed on Form N-MFP
Monday, January 31, 2011, 11:17:39 AM
Money Market Funds: Staff Responses to Questions about Information Filed on Form N-MFP

Investor Bulletin on Life Settlements
Thursday, January 20, 2011, 10:17:39 AM
The Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to highlight information about life settlements and some of the risks these types of transactions may pose for investors. Individual investors considering a life settlement transaction may wish to keep the following points in mind and seek guidance from an unbiased financial professional who will not receive a commission or any other financial benefit from the transaction.

Trading in Cash Accounts
Tuesday, January 11, 2011, 11:56:39 AM
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help educate investors regarding the rules that apply to trading securities in cash accounts and to highlight the 90-day account freeze which may arise with certain trading activities in these type of accounts.

Top 11 Tips for 2011
Wednesday, December 22, 2010, 10:56:39 AM
It’s that time of year -- the time to ring out the old and ring in the new, to ditch bad habits and replace them with good ones. We can’t guarantee you’ll lose weight, or become a better human being, but we can give you some suggestions to help you whip your finances into shape.

Investor Alert: BP Payout Recipients: Be on the Lookout for Investment Scams
Wednesday, October 13, 2010, 10:56:39 AM
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to help educate investors, including individuals and small businesses receiving lump sum payouts from BP related to the oil spill in the Gulf, about potential investment frauds that target recipients of lump sum payouts.

Investor Alert: Investor Warning Regarding Web-Based Scheme Defrauding Deaf Investors
Wednesday, October 06, 2010, 10:56:39 AM
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has charged an Internet-based investment company, Imperia Invest IBC ("Imperia"), with securities fraud for soliciting several million dollars from U.S. investors and promising guaranteed annual returns in excess of 300% while in reality siphoning the funds into foreign bank accounts and not paying any returns back to investors.

Investor Alert: Investors Beware of Government Impersonators
Tuesday, October 05, 2010, 10:56:39 AM
The staff of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is issuing this Investor Alert about an individual who is falsely representing to be an employee of the SEC and offering to provide assistance with settling federal tax obligations with the United States Internal Revenue Service.

Investor Bulletin: New Stock-by-Stock Circuit Breakers
Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 10:56:39 AM
The Securities and Exchange Commission approved rules on Sept. 10, 2010, to expand the existing circuit breaker program that currently is triggered by large, sudden price moves in an individual stock.

Investor Bulletin: Focus on Municipal Bonds
Monday, September 20, 2010, 10:56:39 AM
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help educate investors about municipal bonds. For additional assistance, investors can call the SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy at 1-800-SEC-0330, or ask a question using ours online form.

Investor Bulletin: Trading in Stock After an SEC Trading Suspension -- Be Aware of the Risks
Monday, August 30, 2010, 1:56:39 PM
Investors should be very cautious when considering trading in stock after the SEC has suspended trading in the shares. An SEC trading suspension is a "red flag", often indicating the SEC has concerns about the information that the company has been providing to the public. By law, an SEC suspension usually ends after ten business days, even if the company has not provided current, accurate information about itself. However, when a company does not provide current, reliable information about itself and its finances, trading its shares can be very risky.

Investor Bulletin: New Rule to Curb “Pay to Play” Practices
Thursday, July 29, 2010, 1:56:39 PM
The Securities and Exchange Commission approved a new rule on June 30, 2010 to curb so-called "pay to play" practices in which investment advisers make campaign contributions to elected officials in order to influence the award of contracts to manage public pension plan assets and other government investment accounts.

Investor Bulletin on Life Settlements
Thursday, July 29, 2010, 1:56:39 PM
We are issuing this Investor Bulletin to highlight information about life settlements and some of the risks these types of transactions may pose for investors. Individual investors considering a life settlement transaction may wish to keep the following points in mind and seek guidance from an unbiased financial professional who will not receive a commission or any other financial benefit from the transaction.

Investor Bulletin: Amendments to Form ADV – New Disclosure Requirements for Investment Advisers
Thursday, July 29, 2010, 1:56:39 PM
Investment advisers provide a wide range of advisory services and play an important role in helping individuals and institutions make significant financial decisions. To allow clients and prospective clients to evaluate the risks associated with a particular investment adviser, its business practices, and its investment strategies, it is essential that clients and prospective clients have clear disclosure that they are likely to read and understand. That is why the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted amendments to Part 2 of Form ADV to require investment advisers to provide new and prospective clients with a brochure and brochure supplements written in plain English. These amendments are designed to provide new and prospective clients with clearly written, meaningful current disclosure of the business practices, conflicts of interest, and background of the investment adviser firm and the firm’s employees who provide advice.