The following story illustrates why it is important for individual investors to work with a fiduciary investment advisor instead of a non-fiduciary brokerage firm. If you are currently working with a brokerage firm, I recommend you look carefully at what you are being charged on for monthly statements for various services and transactions. – Charles [...]

by Melanie Waddell NASAA recently released its list of the top scams con artists use to trap unwary, or merely desperate, investors during these volatile economic times Advisors and investors beware: Even though Bernie Madoff is gone, economic uncertainty and volatile stock markets still breed con artists itching to trap the unwary or merely desperate. [...]

April 7, 2011 WASHINGTON –– Hiding income in offshore accounts, identity theft, return preparer fraud, and filing false or misleading tax forms top the annual list of “dirty dozen” tax scams in 2011, the Internal Revenue Service announced today. “The Dirty Dozen represents the worst of the worst tax scams,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. [...]

In the most recent news from Wall Street, securities fraud has affected individual investors, pensions and charitable organizations. Here are four key safety tips that may help you prevent this from happening to you. 1. Know your advisor. Investment Advisors are registered with government organizations. You can research registrations and review any past complaints with [...]