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INVESTING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES - From CFA Institute: In the wake of recent market turbulence and firm failures, CFA Institute, the global association for investment professionals, today issued five facts investors should know when making investment decisions. One key tip: Investing in a diversified portfolio of securities rather than individual stocks mitigates risk. Investing in only a few individual stocks increases risk for which an investor is not rewarded compared to investing in a diversified mutual fund or index fund. Investors should incorporate different asset classes and investment styles in their portfolio that do not tend to move together so that market swings in one part of their portfolio are offset in another part...
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NEW IRA RESEARCH PROJECT - From ICI and SIFMA: The Investment Company Institute and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association are launching a new research project to improve understanding of investors' use of Individual Retirement Accounts - the largest pool of retirement assets held by Americans-using a new collection of account and demographic data. The two associations will use the database, the first of its kind, to produce a major research report annually, beginning in 2009. IRAs are growing rapidly, fueled by assets "rolled over" from employer-sponsored retirement savings accounts, including 401(k) and similar plans. From 2002 to 2007, ...
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PONZI SCHEME ALERTS - From NASAA: The newest podcast in The Alert Investor series warns about Ponzi schemes, one of the oldest scams on record.  A Ponzi scheme works like this:  The criminal promises big returns from bogus investments and pays the initial investors with money collected from new investors.  With money in hand, the investment may seem legitimate but investors don't know they're being paid inflated returns off the borrowed money from the new investors.  The scam relies on a constant recruitment of new investors to keep it going but when that well runs dry the scheme collapses like a house of cards, leaving investors holding the bag. The Alert Investor, a series of podcasts produced by NASAA to provide investors with investor protection...
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YOUR MUTUAL FUND PORTFOLIO - From IPT: IPT has awarded a grant to the Maine Office of Securities to develop and implement the "Senior Investor Awareness Program" investor education and protection program. The Maine Office of Securities offered a year-long Senior Investor Awareness Program beginning on May 1, 2007. The Program provided the Office with an opportunity to re-introduce itself to the senior investor community through face-to-face educational events featuring investor educational materials developed by IPT and the Office.  In the first six month of the Program, a series of presentations were scheduled around the state at senior-friendly facilities such as public libraries and senior community centers. Presentations focused on the them...
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YOUR MUTUAL FUND PORTFOLIO - From AAII: How simple or intricate you make your mutual fund portfolio comes down to your investor profile: the amount of time and interest you want to spend managing it, your investment knowledge, and the total amount of dollars you'll be investing. There are, however, some investment constants - no matter what, your portfolio of mutual funds should be: diversified;  meet your financial goals; and match your risk tolerance. Your asset allocation - how much you put into the various asset categories - addresses these financial concerns. What fund types you select and how many funds you invest in to populate the asset categories is driven by your investor profile. You also need to make sure that, when you think of your mutual fund portfolio, you are considering all of your funds: those held in both your taxable and tax-sheltered accounts. When you view all of your mutual fund ho...
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PREYING ON MARKET FEARS - The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) cautioned Main Street investors against making sudden and uninformed decisions amid the ongoing market volatility and unprecedented turmoil on Wall Street.  "We know from past experience that con artists follow the headlines to prey on the worries and fears of everyday investors," said NASAA President and Colorado Securities Commissioner Fred Joseph. "With the current economic situation, state securities regulators are concerned that scammers are gearing up to promote various investment schemes with promises of big returns. If history is any guide, these investments will be worth less than the paper on which they are printed." NASAA also offered several tips for investors ...
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SCAM WARNING FOR IKE VICTIMS - While natural disasters elicit financial donations and support from people across the country it also, unfortunately, creates an opportunity for con artists - those who may try to swindle you out of your money or scam you by offering fraudulent services. Do not give out your personal information or money to anyone without proper identification or proof they can do what they say they can. If someone approaches you and cannot provide appropriate identification, go to a disaster assistance site and ask for help. TomorrowsMoney.org recommends that you get copies of all financial transactions and commitments in writing and keep a small notebook to write down the names and contact information of people with whom you speak during this critical time of recovery and rebuilding ...
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INVESTOR ED ON YOUR IPOD - The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today launched a new series of Investor Podcasts that provides unbiased information on a variety of financial issues in an easily accessible format. The podcasts are available on FINRA's Web site and on iTunes.  New podcasts will be added to the series every month to provide investors with topical and timely investment information. The first three installments of the podcast series are now online ...
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NEW LEADERS AT AIE - Dallas Salisbury is the new president of the Alliance for Investor Education (AIE), a nonprofit consortium of 19 leading U.S. organizations involved in investor education.  The other newly elected AIE officers are: Joy Howell, vice president; John Gannon, secretary; and Gloria Talamas, treasurer. Salisbury also serves as the president and CEO of the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and chairman of the American Savings Education Council (ASEC)   ...
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LOAD VS. NO-LOAD MUTUAL FUNDS - Mutual fund investors should avoid unnecessary charges whenever possible. In most instances, <the easiest approach is to focus on no-load and low-load mutual funds. For every high-performing load fund, there usually is a similar no-load or low-load fund that can be purchased more cheaply. If you are investing larger amounts of money, however, load funds need not be written off entirely if there is one you find particularly appealing, according to the American Association of Individual Investors    ...
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