Investing seminars marketed to seniors as educational get-togethers are often nothing more than crooked high-pressure sales pitches for questionable products, the SEC says.
The Securities and Exchange Commission held a 'seniors summit' on investment fraud and abusive sales practices with the North American Securities Administrators Association, which represents state securities regulators; AARP, the advocacy group for seniors; and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the securities industry's self-policing organization.
While their promoters paint the 'free lunch' seminars as educational sessions, sometimes promising that nothing will be sold, 'they are designed to sell -- either at the seminar itself or later,' said Lori Richards, director of the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations. 'They're not educational events.'
The investigation conducted by the SEC, state regulators and FINRA found the use of scare tactics to get seniors to question their current investments, claims of fantastic returns with no risk, and "ringers" in the audience who would stand up and offer testimonials of how much they had earned."
Investing seminars marketed to seniors as educational get-togethers are often nothing more than crooked high-pressure sales pitches for questionable products, the SEC says.
The Securities and Exchange Commission held a 'seniors summit' on investment fraud and abusive sales practices with the North American Securities Administrators Association, which represents state securities regulators; AARP, the advocacy group for seniors; and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the securities industry's self-policing organization.
While their promoters paint the 'free lunch' seminars as educational sessions, sometimes promising that nothing will be sold, 'they are designed to sell -- either at the seminar itself or later,' said Lori Richards, director of the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations. 'They're not educational events.'
The investigation conducted by the SEC, state regulators and FINRA found the use of scare tactics to get seniors to question their current investments, claims of fantastic returns with no risk, and "ringers" in the audience who would stand up and offer testimonials of how much they had earned."
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