The Securities and Exchange Commission and North American Securities Administrators Association are joining together to protect seniors from investment fraud and sales of unsuitable securities.
The initiative, which builds upon the success of cooperative efforts between the SEC and Florida securities regulators, in conjunction with the NASD, to crack down on senior investment fraud, will have several components, including targeted examinations to detect abusive sales tactics aimed at seniors, aggressive enforcement of the securities laws in cases of fraud against seniors, and active investor education and outreach.
SEC Chairman Christopher Cox and NASAA President Patricia D. Struck said federal, state, and NASD regulators already have initiated on-site examinations in Florida of firms sponsoring "free lunch" investment seminars to ensure their sales practices are lawful. Cox and Struck announced that these coordinated examinations will be expanded to additional states where seniors may be targets of abusive sales pitches or fraudulent investment schemes.
An important part of the initiative will involve investor education and outreach to senior investors. The SEC has a "Senior Care Package" of useful brochures for seniors, which are available on the SEC's Web site (www.sec.gov). NASAA's Senior Investor Resource Center, launched on NASAA's Web site (www.nasaa.org) in 2003 to provide investor education materials for seniors, also will be expanded.
