Articles Tagged with retirement

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 17 percent of Americans 65 and older, have already been the victims of financial exploitation.

A new study by the AARP Fraud Watch Network reveals that Americans who lose money to fraud typically exhibit a higher degree of confidence investing in unregulated investments and tend to trade more aggressively than other investors. The fraud watch network interviewed 200 victims of investment fraud and conducted 800 interviews with regular investors for this study that was commissioned a year earlier.

There has been a change in the way investors save for retirement. People are now more used to taking charge of their retirement since traditional pension plans have declined and technology has made it easier for average investors to enroll in trading and retirement accounts. The AARP study quotes Shadel, their lead researcher as saying “decline in traditional pensions has prompted millions of relatively inexperienced Americans to take on the job of investing their own money.” Technology has also made it easier for scammers to reach investors.

Last year, the Obama administration introduced the Fiduciary rule that requires financial advisers to always act in the best interest of their clients when handling their retirement savings. It was expected to be a big industry shakeup, making financial advice more reliable, compensating advisers with a flat-fee model and reasonable compensations, incentivizing them to really act on their client’s best interest as opposed to their own personal gain. The DOL’s Fiduciary rule was aimed at stopping the $17 billion a year that gets wasted in exorbitant fees.

The banks and Wall Street have continued to oppose this rule on grounds of lengthy paperwork and compliance expenses. Financial firms were anxious that once the rule is in effect, they will not be able to make as much money. Republicans have expressed that repealing this rule is on their agenda. Now with Trump as the President elect, and Republicans holding majority in both Houses, there is a fear that legislative action will be taken to kill the much-needed Fiduciary rule.

Joseph Peiffer of PIABA (Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association) was quoted in the InvestmentNews, “If he (Trump) wins, no one knows what the hell is going to happen.” Now that Trump has won, the fate of the rule hangs in the balance. There are others who think that the rule is here to stay, inspite of the unpredictability.

Alliance for Investor Education and the PIABA Foundation is Hosting an Educational Conference about Securing Investors’ Financial Futures


The National Investor Town Hall Meeting is a day-long series of presentations, free to the public, aimed at educating investors about the risks and rewards of financial investing. It will be held on October 29, 2016 at the Rancho Bernado Inn in San Diego, California. Many respected industry professionals, including Ms. Malecki and federal and state regulators will participate in four sessions to help attendees understand risk tolerance, choose financial advisors and avoid becoming victims of financial fraud.

“Financial fraud costs Americans approximately $50 billion each year. It has been my mission for over a decade to educate and empower investors, lending them a voice and holding big entities accountable for violating their fiduciary and ethical duties,” said Jenice Malecki, the founder of Malecki Law. She further adds, “I am excited to be part of this much needed grass-root investor education drive.”

This week, it has been reported that the Department of Labor proposed tougher laws after issuing new regulations requiring financial advisors and brokers managing 401k and retirement accounts to act in the best interest of their clients. These rules were proposed a year ago and after deliberating on it for a year, the White House has finalized these tougher requirements. However, it might be a year before these rules go into effect.

An academic study commissioned by the White House revealed that “conflicts of interest” in financial investing was costing Americans about $17 billion a year in retirement savings. Although brokers are required to only recommend “suitable” investments under the current “suitability standard”, they can push a more expensive product that pays a higher commission than a cheaper fund that would be equally appropriate for that investor.

The new rule fiduciary rule is aimed to at reducing fees and commissions that erode retirement savings and hold brokers to higher standards. It will cast a wider net on who is subject to the fiduciary standard.

This week, the attorneys at Malecki Law sent letters to several United States Senate and House of Representatives members, urging them to support the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposal to hold financial advisors to a higher standard and act in the best interest of retirement investors. These members of the Congress include the Honorable Charles E. Schumer, the Honorable Jerrold Nadler, and the Honorable Kirsten E. Gillibrand.

Millions of Americans have worked their whole life to build a retirement nest egg and count on their retirement savings to support them through their golden years. The DOL’s proposal addresses loopholes in the current rules that make it far too easy for some advisers to take advantage of these hard-working Americans and line their own pockets with retirement savings. Our system is so broken that brokers often can and do put their own interest in commissions above the interests of their clients, causing them to be in unsuitable products just so the broker could earn additional commissions.

When someone turns their life savings over to someone for advice, they believe their financial adviser is going to do what’s best for them.  We have never heard a client recount a story of a financial advisor that told them that they are not fiduciaries, in fact, we hear just the opposite.  We all see the advertisements on television that say the financial advisers are there to help us, but we need to know that financial advisers are obligated to put client interests first, as well as be able to receive that assurance in writing.

As the U.S. baby boomers look toward retirement, a larger percentage of the population will become senior-aged individuals who will have a substantial amount of savings that may be used to fund investments.  It is more important than ever to keep in mind that everyone needs to take as much care over their retirement nest egg now as they did when they were diligently saving.  The New Jersey Bureau of Securities has issued a new release to commemorate World Elder Abuse Awareness Day and remind senior-aged investors to be wary of financial fraud.

In the news release, the NJ Bureau noted that one in five Americans over the age of 65 are victims of financial fraud, making it one of the fastest growing forms of elder abuse.  However, the news release noted that anyone over than 55, whether working or retired, may be viewed as a potential target for financial fraud.

The NJ Bureau of Securities listed several types of financial fraud to be careful of, including:

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