Title: 529 Plan

A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed to encourage saving for educational costs. 529 plans, legally known as “qualified tuition plans,” are sponsored by states, state agencies, or educational institutions and are authorized by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Title: Accounts – Opening A Brokerage Account

Opening a brokerage account requires three critical decisions: who will buy and sell in the account, how will investments be paid, and how much risk will the account holder take.

Title: Arbitration/Mediation, Clinics

Law schools in California, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania have established securities arbitration/mediation clinics to provide legal representation to investors who cannot hire a lawyer to handle their claims.

Title: Bond Funds

Bond funds and income funds are investments that deal primarily with debt securities.

Title: Bond Swaps

When an investor sells one bond and uses the proceeds to purchase another bond, often at the same price.

Title: Bonds, Corporate

Debt securities issued by private and public corporations.

Title: Bonds, Municipal

Debt securities bonds issued by states, cities, counties and other governmental entities to finance capital projects.

Title: Bonus Credits, Annuities

Extra amount an insurance company agrees to add to a contract.

Title: Breakpoint Discounts

Discounts offered to investors who purchases mutual fund shares.

Title: Bonds, Callable or Redeemable

Bonds that can be redeemed or paid off by the issuer prior to the bonds' maturity date.

Title: Contacting the SEC

The SEC can be contacted by mail, email, phone, and through an online complaint form.

Title: Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs)

A credit rating agency assesses the creditworthiness of an obligor as an entity or with respect to specific securities or money market instruments.

Title: Disaster-related Investment Scams

Disaster-related investment scams often increase following oil spills, hurricanes, floods, and other such tragedies.

Title: 12b-1 Fees

Fees, also known as “distribution [and/or service] fees,” that are paid by a mutual fund out of fund assets to cover distribution and sometimes shareholder service expenses.

Title: Escheatment Process

A process that goes into effect when a firm or financial institution is unable to identify the owner of an abandoned or unclaimed account.

Title: Executive Compensation

Federal securities laws requires clear disclosure about compensation paid to CEOs, CFOs and certain other high-ranking executive officers of public companies.

Title: Fair Disclosure, Regulation FD

Rule that aims to promote the full and fair disclosure of information by publicly traded companies and other issuers.

Title: Form 1099

All brokerage firms, mutual funds, companies, and other entities are required by law to report on Form 1099 all interest or dividends they have paid to investors during the previous tax year.

Title: Forms 3, 4, 5

Securitites ownership disclosure forms required to be filed by a company’s officers, directors and any beneficial owner of more than 10 percent of a class of the company’s equity securities.

Title: Householding Rules, Preventing Duplicate Copies of Prospectuses and Mutual Fund Reports

SEC allows funds to deliver a single copy of a prospectus or mutual fund shareholder report to investors who share the same address.



Title: Investment Company, Shareholders' Information

Investors are advised to read all available information from the fund, including the prospectus, statement of additional information, and shareholder reports.

Title: Initial Public Offerings: Lockup Agreements

A period of time—typically 180 days—where company insiders are prohibited from selling their shares after the company goes public.

Title: Investing: Questions You Should Ask About Your Investments (PDF)

Investors should do thorough research and ask questions about products before purchasing them.

Title: Investment Company Registration and Regulation Package

General information about investment companies (e.g., mutual funds, closed-end funds, and unit investment trusts) that is available online.

Title: Bonds, Late Payment of Interest

The process of paying bondholders involves banking transactions that are subject to the supervision of state and federal banking authorities.

Title: Market Centers: Buying and Selling Stock

Location where orders to buy and sell stocks are executed.

Title: Mini-Tender Offers

Small offers that result in owning less than 5 percent of a company’s stock; often used to catch shareholders off guard.

Title: Mutual Fund Cost Calculator

Online cost calculators are available to compare the costs of owning different mutual funds.

Title: National Securities Exchanges

Securities exchanges that have registered with the SEC under Section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Title: Old Stock and Bond Certificates

Old stock or bond certificates may still be valuable even if it no longer trades under the name printed on the certificate.

Title: Brokerage Orders

Investors have several orders options when it comes to buying and selling securities.

Title: Promissory Notes

A type of debt, similar to loans or IOUs, that companies sometimes use to raise money.

Title: Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)

A private sector, nonprofit corporation created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to oversee accounting professionals who provide independent audit reports for publicly traded companies.

Title: Public Documents: How to Request Public Documents

Questions and inquiries relating to the Commission, federal securities laws and investments should be submitted via [https://www.sec.gov/oiea/QuestionsAndComments.html]. Public documents can be requested through the Office of FOIA/PA Operations.

Title: Savings Bond Calculator

Tool to help calculate how much savings bonds are currently worth, what it was worth in the past, and what it will be worth in the near future.

Title: Section 31 Transaction Fees

Sometimes described as the “SEC Fee,” this charge is designed to recover the costs incurred by the government for supervising and regulating the securities markets and securities professionals.

Title: Securities Act Rule 144

A safe harbor for the public resale of restricted or control securities if a number of conditions are met, including how long the securities are held, the way in which they are sold, and the amount that can be sold at any one time.

Title: Analyst Recommendations

SEC cautions investors not to rely solely on any analyst recommendation, and should know what they’re buying and why.

Title: Settling Securities Transactions, T+2

Investors must complete or "settle" their security transactions within two business days. This settlement cycle is known as "T+2," shorthand for "trade date plus two days."

Title: Medallion Signature Guarantees

Medallion signature guarantees are required to transfer or sell securities in physical certificate form. These securities powers are needed before a transfer agent will accept the transaction.

Title: Nationally Recognized Municipal Securities Information Repositories (NRMSIRs)

Free public access on sources of municipal securities information is available from the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), through its Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) website at www.emma.msrb.org.

Title: Lost or Stolen Stock Certificates

A “stop transfer” should be immediately requested when securities certificates are lost, accidentally destroyed, or stolen.

Title: Tax Questions, Capital Gains & Losses

Questions or comments regarding a capital gains tax or a capital loss should be directed to the Internal Revenue Service.

Title: Transferring Your Brokerage Account

Account transfers are generally completed without a problem, often within two to three weeks.

Title: Variable Annuities - Free Look Period

A period of 10 or more days during which a contract can be terminated without paying any surrender charges, and a refund can be received.