Ten Things the SEC Will Not Tell Investors

We enjoyed and concurred with this list from MarketWatch writer Quentin Fottrell--- these are some of the many reasons we are here to represent investors. The SEC will never tell you:

“We will never live up to your expectations.”

To be fair, experts also point out that the agency faces a near-impossible job as the watchdog of Wall Street....

“The damage is often done before we get involved.”

By the time the SEC takes an enforcement case, the worst of the losses and abuse have occurred, critics charge....

“Do as we say, not as we do.”

The SEC stresses that firms should keep diligent records and never shred important files. But in fact, the regulator has allegedly done exactly that....

“We may have to scale back our responsibilities.”

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee last year approved $1.4 billion to fund the SEC, but experts say the agency needs more money to handle increased responsibilities under the Dodd-Frank...

“...and we need to better manage the money we do have.”

While the SEC has said it needs more money to better police the financial industry, critics say it isn’t managing the funds it has well....

“We can’t always protect the most vulnerable.”

The SEC is well aware that the elderly are particularly vulnerable when it comes to financial scams. It has even produced a special investment guide for seniors. Unfortunately, the commission is ill-equipped to do much more to protect that age group....

“Our own employees prove difficult to regulate.”

Regulation, like charity, starts at home, say experts. The SEC has had many highly embarrassing incidents of its staff behaving badly....

“...and our best people leave and work against us.”

Many critics of the SEC, including some members of Congress, have charged that the SEC is undermined by the fact that many employees leave to work for companies overseen by the commission....

“We’re sometimes chummy with Wall Street.”

Just ask Gary Aguirre, the former SEC investigator...

“We’ll miss the next Bernie Madoff.”

Experts say that the next Bernie Madoff is probably out there right now lurking in the shadows. The SEC is a minnow compared with the industry it regulates....

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