Investor Bulletin: Top 10 of 2017
Dec. 27, 2017
With 2017 coming to a close, here are the SEC Office of Investor Education and Advocacy’s top 10 most popular Investor Alerts and Bulletins for the year. These resources, all available on Investor.gov, can help you make more informed investment decisions – and avoid investment fraud – in 2018. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at help@sec.gov, our online question form, or on our toll-free investor assistance line at (800) 732-0330.
Developers, businesses, and individuals increasingly are using initial coin offerings, also called ICOs or token sales, to raise capital. These activities may provide fair and lawful investment opportunities. However, new technologies and financial products, such as those associated with ICOs, can be used improperly to entice investors with the promise of high returns in a new investment space. There are potential risks with participating in ICOs that you should learn more about.
Investors should be aware about potential scams involving companies claiming to be related to ICOs. These frauds can include “pump-and-dump” and market manipulation schemes involving publicly traded companies that claim to provide exposure to this new investment space. The SEC issued several trading suspensions on the common stock of certain issuers who made claims regarding their investments in ICOs or touted coin/token related news.
Investors are warned that seemingly independent commentary on investment research websites may in fact be part of paid stock promotion campaigns.
The availability and popularity of automated digital investment advisory programs, often called robo-advisers, is growing. Robo-advisers allow individual investors to create and manage their investment accounts through a web portal or mobile application, sometimes with little or no interaction with a human being, with the potential benefit of lower costs than traditional investment advisory programs. Learn more here.
The millions of participants in federal government employee retirement plans, including the Thrift Savings Plan, are warned that investment scam artists may pretend to be affiliated with a government agency. Federal government agencies, including the SEC, do not endorse or sponsor any particular securities, issuers, products, services, professional credentials, firms, or individuals. If someone offers you an investment opportunity and claims any affiliation with the federal government, follow these tips.
There are different types of orders you can use to buy or sell stock through a brokerage firm. Learn more here.
As with all web-based accounts, investors should take precautions to help ensure that their online investment accounts remain secure. These online security tips can help protect your accounts from fraud.
Securities-based crowdfunding provides an opportunity for the general public to participate in the early capital raising activities of start-up and early-stage companies and businesses. Because of the risks involved with this type of investing, however, you are limited in how much you can invest during any 12-month period in these transactions. If you are interested in securities-based crowdfunding, you should learn more about these risks and restrictions.
Celebrities, from movie stars to professional athletes, can be found on TV, radio, and social media endorsing a wide variety of products and services—sometimes even including investment opportunities. But a celebrity endorsement does not mean that an investment is legitimate or that it is appropriate for all investors. It is never a good idea to make an investment decision just because someone famous says a product or service is a good investment.
The SEC recently shortened the standard settlement cycle for securities transactions from T+3 to T+2, subject to certain exceptions. Since 1993, the settlement cycle had been T+3. To learn more about how the new T+2 settlement cycle will affect the transactions you place with your brokerage firm, go here.
