The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) isn't wasting any time in investigating several cases involving possible fraud against senior investors; their cases will receive top priority in the regulatory agency's examinations and enforcement and restitution actions.
FINRA will have teams looking into possible fraud cases and they have four months to complete their probe. If wrongdoing is found, cases will be given top priority in the enforcement division.
FINRA will focus on "free-lunch" seminars, in which advisers target large groups of potential investors with high-pressure sales talks, and on the use of credentials that falsely create the impression an adviser is trained to work with older clients.
Usually, regulatory investigation can take months to a few years but investment fraud against senior investors can be detrimental to their livelihood so FINRA is moving quickly in an attempt to protect these older investors who have become big targets with their vast sums of retirement money.
It is not uncommon to find seniors who have been duped out of their life savings since now more are responsible for their self-funded retirement accounts instead of company-managed pension plans. Plus, advanced age or medical problems could prevent them from monitoring their advisors and investments.
FINRA's actions will probably cause brokerage firms to raise the priority level for senior issues among broker-dealers as well.
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