Personal Finance

Have you ever wondered who protects investors—and how? If you invest, it can pay to know about FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. FINRA is a not-for-profit organization authorized under the federal securities laws and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Alongside the SEC, FINRA oversees U.S. broker-dealers and their personnel, including individuals who recommend or sell securities products to the public. FINRA’s mission is protecting you, the investor, and ensuring the integrity of our country’s securities markets.

Have you heard of money market funds and wondered what exactly this type of investment is? Money market funds invest in short-term debt securities. As a result, money market funds can be a good option for investors looking for a low-risk investment that offers relatively easy access to their money. But while the name “money market” might sound promising, you should understand what the term means and how these products differ from other mutual funds before investing. 

College graduation is a major milestone for many, but the excitement of receiving a diploma can be dampened if a hefty student loan bill comes along with it.

If you graduated with a sizable amount of debt, you aren't alone. The high costs of college mean it’s common for graduates to finish school with thousands of dollars in student loans to repay. The amount of student loan debt in the U.S. totals in the billions, with millions of former college students in the red.

The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) are jointly issuing this Investor Bulletin to make investors aware of frauds involving investments in physical precious metals, in particular those involving self-directed individual retirement accounts (SDIRAs).

Did you know there’s a difference between the date you trade a security and the date the transaction settles? Trade date is the day your order to buy or sell a security is executed; settlement date is the day your order is finalized and on which funds and the securities must be delivered. Currently, settlement date occurs two business days after trade date, but recent rule amendments from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and conforming FINRA rule changes will soon make that cycle one day shorter.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) are jointly issuing this investor article to make investors aware of the increase of investment frauds involving the purported use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies. Individual investors should know that bad actors are using the growing popularity and complexity of AI to lure victims into scams.

Are you considering investing in low-priced securities? You might have heard that they’re a good way to make a profit without spending much. But how much do you know about these securities?

FINRA has seen a recent significant spike in investor complaints resulting from recommendations made by fraudulent “investment groups” promoted through social media channels. Complaints received by FINRA and posted on social media describe bad actors, posing as registered investment advisers, who initially advertise “stock investment groups” on Instagram and other social media channels and then turn to encrypted group chats on WhatsApp to communicate with interested investors and pitch investments.

Among the wide range of hacking techniques known collectively as social engineering, pretexting is a tactic that hinges on telling a compelling (and, spoiler alert, fake!) story.

With pretexting, hackers attempt to deceive their targets by establishing a false sense of trust. The hacker uses a fabricated story, or pretext, to get you to download malware, send money or share sensitive information, to name a few examples. As you can imagine, this is a very risky game with serious ramifications if the hacker is successful.

You probably wouldn’t dream of leaving piles of cash lying around your home. But many investors end up doing this with cash in their brokerage accounts. Uninvested cash is a potentially valuable part of your investment portfolio. So it pays to pay attention to it, especially when interest rates move up or down. You should know the facts about your uninvested cash, the different cash management programs available and questions to ask.