Investor Protection
How to check a broker or financial adviser
Two free government-linked databases show whether someone is registered and what is on their record. Checking takes a few minutes and is the first defence against investment fraud.
Investor protection
Most money lost by new investors is not lost to bad luck in the market.
Also in Investor Protection
Investor Protection
Margin accounts explained
Investor Protection
What is a fiduciary?
New to Investor Protection? Read in this order
All Investor Protection explainers
5 published
Investor Protection
Common investment scams and red flags
Most investment frauds reuse a handful of patterns. Learn the five you are most likely to meet and the warning signs regulators keep repeating.
Investor Protection
What SIPC protection does and doesn't cover
SIPC steps in when a US brokerage firm fails and customer assets are missing. It is not insurance against falling prices, and it works differently from FDIC deposit insurance.
Investor Protection
Margin accounts explained
Borrowing to invest magnifies both gains and losses. Here is how the US margin rules work, what triggers a margin call, and how you can lose more than you put in.
Investor Protection
What is a fiduciary?
Investment advisers and brokers both have to act in your best interest in the US, but the duties are built differently. Knowing which one you are dealing with tells you what to ask.
Terms used in this section
Glossary A–ZAbout this section
Most money lost by new investors is not lost to bad luck in the market. It is lost to people who should never have been trusted with it, to account features that were not understood, or to protections that turned out not to cover what the investor assumed. This section deals with those risks. It shows how to confirm that a broker or adviser is registered using the free tools run by the SEC and FINRA, how the most common investment scams are built, and which red flags US regulators repeat in almost every warning they publish.
It also explains the limits of the safety nets. SIPC can help restore missing cash and securities if a member brokerage fails, but it does not cover a fall in prices. A margin account lets you borrow to invest, which magnifies losses and lets a firm sell your holdings without asking. And "best interest" means different things for an investment adviser and for a broker. Every guide quotes its rules from primary sources such as Investor.gov, FINRA, sipc.org and fdic.gov, with US rules dated so you know when they were checked. Nothing here recommends a firm, a product or an investment. If you are new, read the three guides under "Start with" first.