Askquestions Brochure 508 9 20

ASK QUESTIONS  |  1

Ask
Questions

Questions You Should Ask 
About Your Investments



2  |  ASK QUESTIONS



ASK QUESTIONS  |  1

Ask Questions
That’s the best advice we can give 
you about how to invest wisely. We 
see too many investors who might 
have avoided trouble and losses if 
they had asked basic questions from 
the start. 

We encourage you to thorough-
ly evaluate the background of any  
investment professional with whom 
you intend to do business—before 
you hand over your hard-earned 
cash.

It doesn’t matter if you are a  
beginner or have been investing for 
many years, it’s never too early or 
too late to start asking questions. 
It’s almost impossible to ask a dumb 
question about how you are invest-
ing your money. Don’t feel intimi-
dated. Remember, it’s your money at 
stake.

A good investment professional  
will welcome your questions, no 
matter how basic. Investment pro-
fessionals know that an educated 
client is an asset, not a liability. They 
would rather answer your questions 
before you invest, than confront 
your anger and confusion later. 



In this brochure, you’ll find some 
questions that you should ask about 
investment products, the people who 
sell those products, and the people 
who provide investment advice to 
you. We’ve also included some tips 
on how to monitor your invest-
ments and handle any problems. 

Keep this brochure on hand 
when considering an investment 
and use it by asking the right ques-
tions before you buy.

Investor Tip

The investment professional you  

select is very important for sev-

eral reasons. You’ll want to know  

before doing business with an 

investment professional or firm 

whether they are registered and 

whether they have a history of com-

plaints or problems with regulators.

2  |  ASK QUESTIONS



ASK QUESTIONS  |  3

Questions About 
Products
•	 �Is this investment product  

registered with the SEC or my 
state securities agency? 

•	 �Does this investment match  
my investment goals? Why is this 
investment suitable for me? 

•	 �How will this investment make 
money? (dividends? interest? 
capital gains?) What could cause 
this investment to increase or 
decrease in value? (for example, 
changes in interest rates, real  
estate values, or market share?) 

•	 �What are the total fees to purchase, 
maintain, and sell this investment? 
Are there ways that I can reduce 
or avoid some of the fees that  
I’ll pay, such as purchasing the 
investment directly? After all the 
fees are paid, how much does this  
investment have to increase in 
value before I break even? 



4  |  ASK QUESTIONS

•	 �How liquid is this investment? 
How easy would it be to sell if 
I needed my money right away? 

•	 �What are the specific risks  
associated with this investment? 
What is the maximum I could 
lose? (for example, what will be 
the effect of changing interest 
rates, economic recession, high  
competition, or stock market ups 
and downs?) 

•	 �How long has the company been 
in business? Is its management 
experienced? Has management 
been successful in the past? Have 
they ever made money for inves-
tors before? 

•	 �Is the company making money? 
How are they doing compared to 
their competitors? 

•	 �Where can I get more informa-
tion about this investment? Can 
I get the latest reports filed by  
the company with the SEC: a 
prospectus or offering circular,  
or the latest annual report and  
financial statements? 



ASK QUESTIONS  |  5

FOR MUTUAL FUNDS AND 
ETFS

•	 �How has this fund performed 
over the long run? Where can I 
find an independent evaluation of 
this fund? 

•	 �What specific risks are associated 
with this fund? 

•	 �What type of securities does the 
fund hold? How often does the 
portfolio change? 

•	 �Does this fund invest in any type 
of securities that could cause the 
value to go up or down rapidly 
in a short period of time? (for  
example, derivatives?) 

•	 �How does the fund perform  
compared to other funds of the 
same type or to an index of the 
same type of investment? 

•	 �How much will the fund charge 
me when I buy shares? What  
ongoing fees are charged?  How 
much will the fund charge me 
when I sell shares? 

•	 �Is the fund portable? If I move 
my assets to another firm, will I 
be able to continue holding the 
fund or will I need to liquidate it? 



Investor Tip

You can verify your investment 

professional’s disciplinary history  

by visiting Investor.gov. Your state 

securities regulator may also have 

information, so you will want to 

check with them as well. You’ll 

find contact information for your 

state securities regulator on the  

website of the North American 

Securities Administrators Associ-

ation at www.nasaa.org.

6  |  ASK QUESTIONS

https://investor.gov/
www.nasaa.org


ASK QUESTIONS  |  7

Questions For 
People Who Sell 
Investments
•	 �Are you registered with our 

state securities regulator? Have 
you ever been disciplined by the  
SEC, a state regulator, or other 
organization (such as FINRA) or 
one of the stock exchanges? 

•	 �How long has your firm been in 
business? How many arbitration 
awards have been filed against 
your firm? 

•	 �What training and experience do 
you have? How long have you 
been in the business? What other 
firms have you been registered 
with? What is the status of those 
firms today? 

•	 �Have you personally been  
involved in any arbitration cases? 
What happened? 

•	 �What is your investment philo- 
sophy? 

•	 �Describe your typical client. Can 
you provide me with some names 
and telephone numbers of your 
long-term clients?



8  |  ASK QUESTIONS

•	 �How do you get paid? By com-
mission? By the amount of assets 
you manage? By another method? 

•	 �Do I have any choices on how  
to pay you? Should I pay you  
by the transaction? Or a flat  
fee regardless of how many trans-
actions I have? 

•	 �Do you make more if I buy this 
stock, bond, mutual fund, or ETF, 
rather than another? If you weren’t 
making extra money, would your 
recommendation be the same? 

•	 �Are you participating in a sales 
contest? Is this purchase really in 
my best interest? 

•	 �You’ve told me what it costs me 
to buy this stock, bond, mutual 
fund, or ETF; how much will I 
receive if I sell it today? 

•	 �Where do you send my order  
to be executed? Can we get a  
better price if we send it to  
another market? 

•	 �If your broker changes firms, ask: 
Did they pay you to change firms? 
Do you get anything for bringing 
me along?



ASK QUESTIONS  |  9

Questions About 
the Progress of 
Your Investments
•	 �How frequently do I get state-

ments? Do I understand what the 
statement tells me? 

•	 �Is the return on my invest-
ment meeting my expectations  
and goals? Is this investment  
performing as I was led to believe? 

•	 �How much money will I get back 
if I sell my investment today? 

•	 �How much am I paying in  
commission or fees? 

•	 �Have my goals changed? If so, are 
my investments still suitable? 

•	 �What criteria will I use to decide 
when to sell?



10  |  ASK QUESTIONS

How to Handle 
Problems
Act promptly! By law, you only have 
a limited time to take legal action. 
Follow these steps to solve your 
problem: 

1.	 �Talk to your investment profes-
sional and explain the problem. 
Where is the fault? Were com-
munications clear? What did the 
investment professional tell you? 

2.	 �If your investment professional 
can’t resolve your problem, then 
talk to the investment profes-
sional’s supervisor (which, for 
brokers, is often the firm’s branch 
manager). 

3.	 �If the problem is still not resolved, 
write to the compliance depart-
ment at the firm’s main office. 
Explain your problem clearly, and 
how you want it resolved. Ask the 
compliance office to respond to 
you within 30 days. If you’re still 
not satisfied: 



ASK QUESTIONS  |  11

4.	 �Send a copy of your letter to your 
states securities administrator or 
to the Office of Investor Educa-
tion and Advocacy at the SEC.  

At the SEC, we will review your 
complaint, contact the firm or  
person you have complained about 
and ask them to respond to your 
specific complaint or question. 
Sometimes our intervention yields 
a satisfactory result. If these steps 
don’t work, you may need to take 
legal action on your own. We can 
send you information on mediation 
and arbitration, and suggest how to 
locate a lawyer if you need one. 



12  |  ASK QUESTIONS

CONTACT US:

U.S. Securities and  
Exchange Commission

Office of Investor Education  
and Advocacy

100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549-0213

Telephone: (800) 732-0330 (toll-free)

Email: [email protected]

Website: Investor.gov

Ask a question or report  
a problem concerning your  
investments, investment  
account, or an investment 
professional: 
sec.gov/complaint/question.shtml

Report a possible securities fraud: 
sec.gov/complaint/tipscomplaint.shtml

mailto:[email protected]
https://investor.gov/
http://www.sec.gov/complaint/question.shtml
http://www.sec.gov/complaint/tipscomplaint.shtml


ASK QUESTIONS  |  13



14  |  ASK QUESTIONS

1-800-732-0330
Investor.gov

SEC Pub. 001 (09/16)

OFFICE of INVESTOR
EDUCATION and ADVOCACY

https://investor.gov/

	Ask Questions
	Questions About Products
	For Mutual Funds and ETFs

	Questions For People Who Sell Investments
	Questions About the Progress of Your Investments
	How to Handle Problems
	Contact Us

ASK QUESTIONS  |  1

Ask
Questions

Questions You Should Ask 
About Your Investments



2  |  ASK QUESTIONS



ASK QUESTIONS  |  1

Ask Questions
That’s the best advice we can give 
you about how to invest wisely. We 
see too many investors who might 
have avoided trouble and losses if 
they had asked basic questions from 
the start. 

We encourage you to thorough-
ly evaluate the background of any  
investment professional with whom 
you intend to do business—before 
you hand over your hard-earned 
cash.

It doesn’t matter if you are a  
beginner or have been investing for 
many years, it’s never too early or 
too late to start asking questions. 
It’s almost impossible to ask a dumb 
question about how you are invest-
ing your money. Don’t feel intimi-
dated. Remember, it’s your money at 
stake.

A good investment professional  
will welcome your questions, no 
matter how basic. Investment pro-
fessionals know that an educated 
client is an asset, not a liability. They 
would rather answer your questions 
before you invest, than confront 
your anger and confusion later. 



In this brochure, you’ll find some 
questions that you should ask about 
investment products, the people who 
sell those products, and the people 
who provide investment advice to 
you. We’ve also included some tips 
on how to monitor your invest-
ments and handle any problems. 

Keep this brochure on hand 
when considering an investment 
and use it by asking the right ques-
tions before you buy.

Investor Tip

The investment professional you  

select is very important for sev-

eral reasons. You’ll want to know  

before doing business with an 

investment professional or firm 

whether they are registered and 

whether they have a history of com-

plaints or problems with regulators.

2  |  ASK QUESTIONS



ASK QUESTIONS  |  3

Questions About 
Products
•	 �Is this investment product  

registered with the SEC or my 
state securities agency? 

•	 �Does this investment match  
my investment goals? Why is this 
investment suitable for me? 

•	 �How will this investment make 
money? (dividends? interest? 
capital gains?) What could cause 
this investment to increase or 
decrease in value? (for example, 
changes in interest rates, real  
estate values, or market share?) 

•	 �What are the total fees to purchase, 
maintain, and sell this investment? 
Are there ways that I can reduce 
or avoid some of the fees that  
I’ll pay, such as purchasing the 
investment directly? After all the 
fees are paid, how much does this  
investment have to increase in 
value before I break even? 



4  |  ASK QUESTIONS

•	 �How liquid is this investment? 
How easy would it be to sell if 
I needed my money right away? 

•	 �What are the specific risks  
associated with this investment? 
What is the maximum I could 
lose? (for example, what will be 
the effect of changing interest 
rates, economic recession, high  
competition, or stock market ups 
and downs?) 

•	 �How long has the company been 
in business? Is its management 
experienced? Has management 
been successful in the past? Have 
they ever made money for inves-
tors before? 

•	 �Is the company making money? 
How are they doing compared to 
their competitors? 

•	 �Where can I get more informa-
tion about this investment? Can 
I get the latest reports filed by  
the company with the SEC: a 
prospectus or offering circular,  
or the latest annual report and  
financial statements? 



ASK QUESTIONS  |  5

FOR MUTUAL FUNDS AND 
ETFS

•	 �How has this fund performed 
over the long run? Where can I 
find an independent evaluation of 
this fund? 

•	 �What specific risks are associated 
with this fund? 

•	 �What type of securities does the 
fund hold? How often does the 
portfolio change? 

•	 �Does this fund invest in any type 
of securities that could cause the 
value to go up or down rapidly 
in a short period of time? (for  
example, derivatives?) 

•	 �How does the fund perform  
compared to other funds of the 
same type or to an index of the 
same type of investment? 

•	 �How much will the fund charge 
me when I buy shares? What  
ongoing fees are charged?  How 
much will the fund charge me 
when I sell shares? 

•	 �Is the fund portable? If I move 
my assets to another firm, will I 
be able to continue holding the 
fund or will I need to liquidate it? 



Investor Tip

You can verify your investment 

professional’s disciplinary history  

by visiting Investor.gov. Your state 

securities regulator may also have 

information, so you will want to 

check with them as well. You’ll 

find contact information for your 

state securities regulator on the  

website of the North American 

Securities Administrators Associ-

ation at www.nasaa.org.

6  |  ASK QUESTIONS

https://investor.gov/
www.nasaa.org


ASK QUESTIONS  |  7

Questions For 
People Who Sell 
Investments
•	 �Are you registered with our 

state securities regulator? Have 
you ever been disciplined by the  
SEC, a state regulator, or other 
organization (such as FINRA) or 
one of the stock exchanges? 

•	 �How long has your firm been in 
business? How many arbitration 
awards have been filed against 
your firm? 

•	 �What training and experience do 
you have? How long have you 
been in the business? What other 
firms have you been registered 
with? What is the status of those 
firms today? 

•	 �Have you personally been  
involved in any arbitration cases? 
What happened? 

•	 �What is your investment philo- 
sophy? 

•	 �Describe your typical client. Can 
you provide me with some names 
and telephone numbers of your 
long-term clients?



8  |  ASK QUESTIONS

•	 �How do you get paid? By com-
mission? By the amount of assets 
you manage? By another method? 

•	 �Do I have any choices on how  
to pay you? Should I pay you  
by the transaction? Or a flat  
fee regardless of how many trans-
actions I have? 

•	 �Do you make more if I buy this 
stock, bond, mutual fund, or ETF, 
rather than another? If you weren’t 
making extra money, would your 
recommendation be the same? 

•	 �Are you participating in a sales 
contest? Is this purchase really in 
my best interest? 

•	 �You’ve told me what it costs me 
to buy this stock, bond, mutual 
fund, or ETF; how much will I 
receive if I sell it today? 

•	 �Where do you send my order  
to be executed? Can we get a  
better price if we send it to  
another market? 

•	 �If your broker changes firms, ask: 
Did they pay you to change firms? 
Do you get anything for bringing 
me along?



ASK QUESTIONS  |  9

Questions About 
the Progress of 
Your Investments
•	 �How frequently do I get state-

ments? Do I understand what the 
statement tells me? 

•	 �Is the return on my invest-
ment meeting my expectations  
and goals? Is this investment  
performing as I was led to believe? 

•	 �How much money will I get back 
if I sell my investment today? 

•	 �How much am I paying in  
commission or fees? 

•	 �Have my goals changed? If so, are 
my investments still suitable? 

•	 �What criteria will I use to decide 
when to sell?



10  |  ASK QUESTIONS

How to Handle 
Problems
Act promptly! By law, you only have 
a limited time to take legal action. 
Follow these steps to solve your 
problem: 

1.	 �Talk to your investment profes-
sional and explain the problem. 
Where is the fault? Were com-
munications clear? What did the 
investment professional tell you? 

2.	 �If your investment professional 
can’t resolve your problem, then 
talk to the investment profes-
sional’s supervisor (which, for 
brokers, is often the firm’s branch 
manager). 

3.	 �If the problem is still not resolved, 
write to the compliance depart-
ment at the firm’s main office. 
Explain your problem clearly, and 
how you want it resolved. Ask the 
compliance office to respond to 
you within 30 days. If you’re still 
not satisfied: 



ASK QUESTIONS  |  11

4.	 �Send a copy of your letter to your 
states securities administrator or 
to the Office of Investor Educa-
tion and Advocacy at the SEC.  

At the SEC, we will review your 
complaint, contact the firm or  
person you have complained about 
and ask them to respond to your 
specific complaint or question. 
Sometimes our intervention yields 
a satisfactory result. If these steps 
don’t work, you may need to take 
legal action on your own. We can 
send you information on mediation 
and arbitration, and suggest how to 
locate a lawyer if you need one. 



12  |  ASK QUESTIONS

CONTACT US:

U.S. Securities and  
Exchange Commission

Office of Investor Education  
and Advocacy

100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549-0213

Telephone: (800) 732-0330 (toll-free)

Email: [email protected]

Website: Investor.gov

Ask a question or report  
a problem concerning your  
investments, investment  
account, or an investment 
professional: 
sec.gov/complaint/question.shtml

Report a possible securities fraud: 
sec.gov/complaint/tipscomplaint.shtml

mailto:[email protected]
https://investor.gov/
http://www.sec.gov/complaint/question.shtml
http://www.sec.gov/complaint/tipscomplaint.shtml


ASK QUESTIONS  |  13



14  |  ASK QUESTIONS

1-800-732-0330
Investor.gov

SEC Pub. 001 (09/16)

OFFICE of INVESTOR
EDUCATION and ADVOCACY

https://investor.gov/

	Ask Questions
	Questions About Products
	For Mutual Funds and ETFs

	Questions For People Who Sell Investments
	Questions About the Progress of Your Investments
	How to Handle Problems
	Contact Us