Ezwebgroup's Link Exchange Directory

SIPC SEEKS INPUT - From SIPC: The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which maintains a special reserve fund mandated by Congress to protect the customers of insolvent brokerage firms, launched a new Web site, http://www.SIPCModernization.org, and also announced the formation of a 13-member SIPC Modernization Task Force. The twin efforts are part of a full-scale review of the operations of SIPC, which has not been the focus of major new legislation in 30 years. The state-of-the-art SIPCModernization.org Web site will be used to gather input from the public through online comments, live interactive forums and national Webcast. Beginning with its initial gathering on June 17, 2010 in Washington, D.C., the SIPC Modernization Task Force will meet in person and via...
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OPTIONS BENEFITS AND RISKS - From OIC: Most strategies that options investors use have limited risk but also limited profit potential. For this reason, options strategies are not get-rich-quick schemes. Transactions generally require less capital than equivalent stock transactions, and therefore return smaller dollar figures - but a potentially greater percentage of the investment - than equivalent stock transactions. Even those investors who use options in speculative strategies, such as writing uncovered calls, don't usually realize dramatic returns. The potential profit is limited to the premium received for the contract, and the potential loss is often unlimited. While leverage means the percentage returns can be significant, here, too, the amount of cash changing hands is smaller than with equivalent stock transactions. ...
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FINANCIAL EDUCATION AT WORK - From AICPA: The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Society for Human Resource Management are creating the first national award that recognizes employers for financial education programs for staff. The AICPA and SHRM will begin accepting applications for the award later in 2010. All employers-corporate, not-for-profit, government and academic-will be eligible for a Workplace Financial Education Award. Research shows that a substantial percentage of financially distressed employees spend time at their jobs worrying about personal finance issues instead of working.  The National Federation of Independent Business found in a 2008 survey that just over 10 percent of small- and medium-size bu...
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DECIPHERING THE MARKET - From AAII: To be a successful investor, you can't just buy a good stock. You have to buy the very best stocks at the very best time. And it's not enough for you to simply study the stock itself, you also need to analyze the market conditions in which it is trading. Five decades of historical studies on past market cycles show that three out of four stocks decline when the general market averages correct. That's why market direction is one of the several critical factors in making money in stocks. How do you tell which way the market is headed? You really don't need a crystal ball. The key is learning to decipher the day-to-day market action - in other words, what the market's doing right now. Successful investing isn't about following pundits' pred...
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GET HIP TO HYIP PONZI SCHEMES - The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) warned investors about Internet-based Ponzi schemes called high-yield investment programs (HYIPs), which purport to offer returns of 20, 30, 100 percent or more per day. HYIPs are unregistered investments sold by unlicensed individuals using sophisticated-looking websites. The con artists behind HYIPs are experts at using social media - including YouTube, Twitter and Facebook - to lure investors and create the illusion of social consensus that these investments are legitimate, but investors should know that HYIPs are just Internet-based scams. As FINRA's investor alert HYIPs-Hazardous to Your Investment Portfolio points out, many HYIPs have a worldwide reach   ...
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BEWARE OF INTERNATIONAL SCAMS - Americans report losses of more than a billion dollars a year to international scam artists, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency.  Con artists can reach out across the globe to victimize people using the phone, email, postal mail, and the Internet, tricking them into sending their cash or revealing their personal information. The FTC has tips for avoiding these scams.  It's often hard to tell who is contacting you and where they are calling from.  However, there are steps you can take to check out the offers you may receive, and the companies behind them. To learn more, go to Putting a Lid on International Scams:  10 Tips for Being a Canny Consumer ...
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RESEARCH YOUR INVESTMENT ADVISOR - The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announced the launch of an enhancement to the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) website that will allow investors to electronically access information about individuals who work for money management, financial planning and other investment advisory firms. This enhancement will provide information on investment adviser representatives - the individuals who work for these firms and provide investment advice to clients. The enhancement will allow investors to access information on more than 220,000 individual investment professionals, including background information such as customer complaints, criminal or regulatory disclosures, professional qualifications, and employment history ...
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TIME FOR A MID-YEAR INVESTMENT REVIEW? - If it's been a while since you last looked at your investment accounts, make sure the securities in your account still meet your investment objectives. Also, make sure you understand and are comfortable with the risks, costs, and liquidity of your investments. As part of this review, you may want to check the information that is on file at your brokerage firm regarding your accounts, such as new account agreements, margin account agreements, option account agreements, discretionary account agreements, and any correspondence to you. You have a right to know what is on file about you. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) offers "10 Tips to Keep Track of Your Investments" for more ideas ...
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ELDER INVESTMENT FRAUD - More than 7.3 million older Americans - one out of every five citizens over the age of 65 - already have been victimized by a financial swindle, according to a major new Investor Protection Trust (IPT) survey conducted by Infogroup/ORC and released to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The survey results underscore the urgent need for a new partnership between the nonprofit Investor Protection Trust, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), and the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA) in cooperation with leading U.S. medical associations. The "Elder Investment Fraud and Financial Exploitation" prevention campaign will educate medical professionals about how to spot older Americans who may be particularly vulnerable to financial abuse ....
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