Articles Posted in News of Interest to Seniors

Roland Craig Matatics – Keene, New Hampshire: The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) is a self-regulatory authority assigned the responsibility, by the Securities and Exchange Commission, to license, regulate and discipline securities broker/dealers and their employees, including account executives. In the event that FINRA elects to institute and enforcement action, firms and licensed individuals…

Annuity, Annuitant and Annuitize: The purpose of this post is to provide the reader with a brief description of what an annuity is and, as it relates to this type of product, the significance of the words “annuitant” and “annuitize.” Please keep in mind that this information is being provided for educational purposes only. Consequently,…

SEC v. Bradley A. Holcom, Civ. No. 3:12-cv-01623 (S.D. Cal.); SEC v. Jose L. Pinedo, Civ. No. 3:12-cv-01620 (S.D. Cal.). September, 2012: SEC Brings Charges in $42 Million Offering Fraud Targeting Seniors The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced charges against Bradley A. Holcom, of Welches, Oregon, and Jose L. Pinedo, of San Diego, California,…

Some Key Questions for Hiring a Financial Professional: As a novice or mildly inexperienced investor, you may have some questions concerning what type of questions you should ask when looking to establish a relationship with a financial advisor. The purpose of this post is to provide some general educational information concerning this issue. Please keep…

Invest Internationally – How to do it. There are a number of ways individual investors may gain exposure to international investments. As with domestic investments, investors should first learn as much as they can about an investment. The purpose of this post is to provide the reader with general discussion of this topic. This information…

Financial Planner: A financial planner is a professional who compiles and analyzes personal financial data and prepares a a proposed program to meet the financial needs and objectives of his client. The purpose of this post is to provide the reader with a general description of the type of individuals that may provide financial planning…

Senior and Other Vulnerable Victims of Fraud and Theft FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq. March, 2012: Ralph Edward Thomas Jr. (CRD #2179751, Registered Representative, Reisterstown, Maryland) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Restitution is being required…

March, 2012: Recently, Securities and Exchange Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar’s chief of staff gave a speech to The American Retirement Summit which deals with the plight of senior citizens as targets for financial abuse. We felt that this speech was so significant dealing with seniors and financial abuse, we have set forth the full release…

Elder abuse can take many forms. One of the most devastating and costly forms of elder financial abuse – investment fraud – is often perpetrated by trusted financial advisers or even family and friends. Senior consumers are increasingly targeted by con artists using investment related pitches, often in what the senior believes is a safe…

You are a health care professional because your desire is to help people, especially seniors. You perform your job with the utmost care and professionalism. In diligently performing your duties, you are exposed to information about your clients that most other people do not see. For example, you can see, from a patient/client history or…