More investors at risk

Seniors

Estate beneficiaries

Hedge fund investors

The securities industry has been anticipating this time in history ever since the Baby Boom generation was first identified. More people will be turning more money over to stockbrokers than at any other time in history.

But, the history of the securities industry is rife with customer abuse. Those who invested in Worldcom or worked at Enron know that things are not always as they seem. No where is that more true than in the securities industry. For brokerage firms, each customer complaint is no more than a drop in the ocean – just another cost of doing business. For a Baby Boom investor, though, that “drop” of water is the entire Pacific.

Broker misconduct and fraudulent schemes turn what should be golden years into years of want and desperation. Baby Boomers who saved diligently to prepare for retirement find themselves returning to find work in an economy that no longer values them. Their thoughts turn from what legacy they can leave to their children and grandchildren to whether to move in with their children or exhaust their assets in an effort to qualify for a Medicaid nursing home.

Investor’s Watchdog protects Baby Boomers from an industry that often seems indifferent to their welfare, which often seems to view them only as a means to an end. Benjamin Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” IW can be that ounce of prevention.