Avoid These Five Potential Rip-Offs and Safeguard Your Retirement Portfolio

by Bob Carlson, Investment U Research
A 2010 Investment U White Paper Report

Given the magnitude of the financial collapse, and the impact on retirees' portfolios, these are high times for con artists.

In fact, you've probably noticed the uptick in pitches, heavy with rhetoric about Wall Street crooks, government bailouts, high inflation and currency collapses.

Each follows a predictable pattern. They exploit legitimate fears and a retiree's desire to recoup his losses. And they offer up a compelling, yet ultimately disastrous, investment opportunity.

No doubt, you've heard the idiom that a fool and his money are easily parted. Well, this month I want to do my best to make sure you don't learn such a reality the hard way... Caveat emptor!

The Five Areas of the Market Most Susceptible to Rip-Offs

To this end, I've identified five areas of the market most susceptible to rip-offs:

• Scam Alert #1: Home Equity

A wide range of fraudulent investments have been tied to home equity. Many pitchmen convince retirees to tap their home equity to invest in private investments, such as promissory notes, partnerships, annuities and certificates of deposit at unconventional banks.

Here's the thing - these fraudulent investments are not registered with any government agency and don't provide full disclosure of all the important details.

My advice? Be especially wary of any pitch that encourages you to use home equity to invest. And always insist on investing in registered investments.

• Scam Alert #2: Life Insurance Settlements

It's 100% legitimate for an insurance policy owner to sell the rights to their policy to someone else. It's known as a life insurance settlement and it's a big market that's expected to top $18 billion in the coming decade.

That said, numerous life settlement investments are outright frauds. In other cases, inexperienced organizers are simply paying too much for the policies, resulting in mediocre returns and money locked up for many years.

Ultimately, investing in life settlements should be left to sophisticated investors who know how much to pay for a policy. And who have enough capital to build a diversified portfolio.

Or more simply put, life insurance settlements are unsuitable investments for the overwhelming majority of us.

If you're looking to raise capital with life insurance, my recommendation is to... Click Here To Continue Reading This Report


Disclosure: No positions