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By: Bryan Beatty | July 31, 2009 | Investor Information

Ameriprise to pay $17.3 million to settle case with the SEC. http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090719/REG/307199991&ht=ameriprise
One of the things that clients or prospective clients need to do is ask why a particular investment was recommended. Many people do. What they don’t ask however is how much do you get paid to recommend that investment. They should know how their [...]


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By: Jack Waymire | July 30, 2009 | Illegal Schemes & Scams, Investor Information

Ponzi schemes and other investment scams share four common characteristics. Know the characteristics and you can avoid most schemes and scams. You can also warn friends, family, and associates so they can avoid them.
The Sales Pitch
Every scam has a sales pitch that tells investors what they want to hear. For example, "We have a unique investment [...]


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By: Evor Vattuone | July 29, 2009 | Illegal Schemes & Scams, Ponzi Schemes, Who Can I Trust?

The Affinity Group
Alarming numbers of new scams are being originated from what are called “affinity groups”.  These are groups of people with similar values, lifestyles and/or ethnic identities, such as churches and women’s or senior groups. Predators use the most respected members of affinity groups to gain access to their constituents – and their built-in [...]


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By: Jack Waymire | July 29, 2009 | Deceptive Sales Practices

Wall Street executives were shocked to learn the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association recently endorsed the Obama administration’s efforts to create a fiduciary standard for brokers and others who sell investment products. 
The financial services industry has long contended that stockbrokers are really sales representatives. They are paid commissions to sell products and any advice they give is [...]


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By: Rick Kahler | July 27, 2009 | Investor Information

An acquaintance asked me while ago, “Do you know anything about investing in alternative energy sources? I got an e-mail about buying stock in this startup company that seems like a great opportunity.”
I gave him my standard answer, that I never recommend buying stocks directly. “Besides,” I added, “Any e-mail offer like that is nothing [...]


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By: Jack Waymire | July 23, 2009 | Deceptive Sales Practices

In a recent conversation with a distraught investor, we will call him Paul, we discussed the horrific investment results he experienced since the fourth quarter of 2007. Even with the partial recovery of the market from a low of 6.500, his investments are still down more than 63% from the market top. Paul is devastated because he will have [...]


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