[Muncle]

This was in today's Sun. Might be of interest to those who don't get the paper.
http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/a...ews/news02.txt


FINRA’s program design to help retirees avoid investment scams

By DAVID R. CORDER, DAILY SUN

THE VILLAGES — The Villages has been chosen as one of two test sites for a national investor education program aimed at helping older Americans avoid securities scams.

It’s a national pilot program sponsored by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s Investor Education Foundation and backed by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, AARP and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions.

The foundation, FINRA’s nonprofit arm, identified The Villages and Spokane, Wash., as two communities with the type of investor demographics that attract investment fraud.

Age and income demographics explain why the foundation picked The Villages for the pilot program, said Mary L. Schapiro, the foundation’s chairman and FINRA’s chief executive officer. FINRA is a self-regulatory authority that oversees all licensed U.S. securities brokerages and dealers.

“We chose The Villages because FINRA Investor Education Foundation-funded research, unveiled in a July 2006 grant, gave us a picture of older-investor fraud that surprised us,” Schapiro said. “That study showed that older investment fraud victims tended to be optimistic, self-reliant, open to new ideas, college-educated, financially successful and at the age just before or just after retirement. We thought if we wanted to work with a large population of people who fit that profile, The Villages was an excellent community to start our campaign to protect older investors from fraud.”

Free seminars

Beginning Tuesday, the FINRA foundation will offer the first in a series of free investor education seminars in cooperation with The Villages Lifelong Learning College. Schapiro will be a guest speaker at this seminar.

The first free seminar is tentatively scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Parlor Room at Colony Cottage Recreation Center. Registration is required through the college at 753-3035, but available seating is going quickly.

If you miss the first seminar, the FINRA foundation has scheduled two others. Just call the college and ask about the FINRA foundation’s investor education program.

There also is plenty of practical information available to anyone with access to a computer by going to an Internet Web site the FINRA foundation has created — save andinvest.org. Go to the section for investors age 55 and older.

The Web site even offers interactive tools that help users determine whether they’re at risk for an investment scam or whether particular securities may be used in a scam.

Such tools are designed to complement other FINRA programs, such as the “broker-check” program, which is available at its Web site (finra.org). It provides detailed information on securities brokers, including reported complaints and findings.

This is a valuable program for investors, said Don Saxon, commissioner of the Florida regulatory agency and a scheduled guest speaker.

“Financial literacy is the first line of defense in not becoming a victim,” Saxon said. “The FINRA foundation is designed to provide consumers with the tools they need to make informed choices and protect themselves against investment fraud.”

Such literacy is even more important today, Saxon added, because of the U.S. age demographics.

“When we think about all the baby boomers who are coming of retirement age now, it’s more important than ever before that we have a program to provide information to people to make the right choices.”

David R. Corder is a reporter with the Daily Sun. He can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9066, or at david.corder@thevillages media.com.