- The Securities
Helpline for Seniors
is a resource for senior
investors to reach out to
and speak to a live,
knowledgeable FINRA staff member
regarding concerns or
questions that they might have
about their securities
account, investments,
or brokerage accounts.
We launched in April of 2015
and over that course of time
we've received over
18,000 individual calls.
We have referred
over 1400 matters
to various state, federal,
and international regulators,
as well as, reported
over 200 matters
to various adult protective
services agencies.
Senior investors have
always been a area
that FINRA has focused on
and this is just
another mechanism.
An average of 10,000
individuals becoming 65 a day.
FINRA wanted to continue
to provide a place
for senior investors
to be heard.
You can expect to speak to
a knowledgeable individual.
Our core focus is
on senior investors,
however, we do receive calls
from individuals of all ages.
We've had individuals
from as young as 17
all the way up to 102.
All 50 states have
been represented.
We offer a bridge
between the investor
and brokerage firms.
And through that process
we've been able to
work with firms and over
$7,000,000 have gone back
into the hands of investors.
The majority of the calls
really fall within
the educational bucket.
So, these are individuals that
want to know 
how variable annuities work.
What a surrender charge is.
How they can ensure that
their assets move appropriately
to an individual upon death.
We also get calls
from other individuals
that might be concerned
about a senior investor.
We've received
calls from family members.
We've received calls from
attorneys of senior investors.
We received a call from
a CPA who came across
certain information
as they were preparing
the taxes for the
senior investor,
and identified a
large sum of money
that was going out to somebody
and it looked suspicious.
We had an individual who
called into the Helpline
and they were
concerned about money
that was moved from
their investment account.
So those were funds
that they shouldn't
have been taxed for,
and when they rolled
it over to that firm
they were hit with
immense tax consequences.
We reached out to
the brokerage firm.
The firm offered to
reimburse the customer
those tax consequences.
The Securities Helpline
for Seniors
is a resource for
anybody to leverage.
