On June 12 at West Chester University, the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Philadelphia regional office will host an educational event directed specifically at Philadelphia-area investors of a certain age.
The event, titled Attention Seniors: Be a Savvy Investor and Avoid Fraud, will be as much an education for the SEC as for attendees. That is because the main speaker of the event, Jeffrey Boujoukos, who heads up the Philly office of the SEC, wants to hear from senior investors about their experiences with investments and fraud as much as the senior investors will want to hear from him about the latest scams.
Suitability, Red Flags, and Memory Loss for Older Investors
The event is scheduled to last most of the day on June 12 and will include a free lunch. Topics to be discussed include Risks and Appropriateness of Certain Investments; Red Flags of Investment Fraud; and How Memory Can Affect Decision-Making.
As we have documented numerous times on this blog, senior investment fraud in the United States is a huge and growing problem, as the wealthiest generation in our country's history - the Baby Boomers - settle into retirement. Unfortunately, fraudsters have recognized the mismatch between the vast wealth possessed by older Americans and their relative lack of financial sophistication. The answer to this problem is, of course, increasing the awareness and education of the retail investor population.
Raising Awareness in Aging Investors in the Philadelphia Area
The SEC's event is one of many such efforts by regulators to help our aging population protect its wealth and retirement savings and to keep up to date on the latest investment trends - legitimate and fraudulent both. It is also great to see that the SEC is approaching more delicate issues such as how memory loss and cognitive degeneration can impact an investor's judgment - not any easy topic to discuss.
We encourage all investors - senior and otherwise - who are interested in learning more about financial self-defense, to consider attending this or another event offered by regulators. It costs nothing - but it could save you a fortune in the long run.
