State securities regulators say answering machines provide best protection WASHINGTON (October 15, 1999) – Despite the growth in Internet fraud, most bogus investment schemes are still sold the old-fashioned way—over the telephone. State securities regulators say the best protection is an answering machine to screen calls. But telemarketing is changing, in response to technology, the [...]

SEC Commissioner Laura Unger, brokerage executives, others to discuss” suitability rule,” other topics WASHINGTON (October 7, 1999) – The head of a group of state securities regulators will moderate a roundtable on November 1 asking whether online investors need the same regulatory safety net as investors who rely on advice from traditional stockbrokers. Bradley Skolnik, [...]

WASHINGTON (October 6, 1999) – State securities regulators have streamlined and improved a program designed to help local entrepreneurs raise seed capital to expand their businesses through small stock offerings. The program, known as SCOR, for “Small Company Offering Registration,” has allowed more than 1,100 companies across the country to sell shares to the public. [...]

WASHINGTON (September 28, 1999) — Securities firms should tell new customers to check a regulatory database to verify the backgrounds of their stockbrokers and to see whether they’ve had serious problems with regulators, the new head of a group of state securities regulators said today. Bradley Skolnik, incoming president of the North American Securities Administrators [...]

September 28, 1999, NASAA Annual Conference, Puerto Rico

State, industry and federal regulators to testify (September 14, 1999) – The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), will hold a hearing on day trading at 9.30 a.m. Thursday (Sept. 16) in Room 628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Scheduled to testify are Peter C. Hildreth, New Hampshire’s director [...]

Losses in Greater Ministries case feared at $200 million WASHINGTON (September 1, 1999) – State securities regulators today issued a warning about con artists who target members of religious groups. The warning follows state regulatory and law enforcement actions in recent months in securities fraud cases in which members of religious groups were targeted by [...]

Report calls on firms to fully disclose risks, screen customers better Regulators urged to step up enforcement, explicitly ban lending schemes Independent analysis finds that at least 70% of traders lose money and only 11.5% might profitably trade WASHINGTON (August 9, 1999) – State securities regulators today issued a report based on a seven-month investigation of the [...]

August 9, 1999, NASAA News Conference, Washington, D.C.

An open forum to gather ideas is scheduled for Sept. 27 WASHINGTON (August 5, 1999) – State and federal securities regulators are seeking ideas from the financial planning industry, trade groups, consumer organizations and others as they design an electronic database to contain records on investment adviser firms and investment adviser representatives. The system, to [...]