Municipal securities—often called “muni bonds”—are bonds issued by states, cities, counties and other governmental entities to raise money to build roads, schools and a host of other projects for the public good.  Munis are relatively conservative investments but they do carry risk.  Investors should be aware that: 1.      There is a risk of defaults. 2.      A muni’s value may change for reasons having nothing to do with the financial condition of the issuer, such as a change in interest rates. [&hellip

Auction rate securities are fixed-income debt instruments for which the interest rate is regularly reset through an auction process. Auction rate securities were marketed as liquid, safe, and cash equivalent investments.  However, many broker-dealer firms failed to disclose that the liquidity was entirely dependent upon the success of the auction process. Auctions were once held every 7 to 35 days by the brokerage firms that dealt in auction rate securities, but because of the deteriorating mortgage lending crisis and its [&hellip

Investors can lose money as direct result of unethical and wrongful conduct of their financial advisors who abuse the trust and confidence of their clients

The Dodd-Frank financial overhaul legislation was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. What impact does it have for individual retail investors? The consensus among the experts is that it has no immediate benefit for retail investors but could result in significant changes down the road. Office of the Investor Advocate and the Investor Advisory Committee For example, the law establishes the Office of the Investor Advocate and the Investor Advisory Committee within the Securities and Exchange [&hellip