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2006 AARP Michigan Investor Protection Trust Survey

AARP Member Opinion Research

by Susan L. Silberman, Ph.D., AARP Knowledge Management, AARP Research, October 2006

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Age 50+ investors are frequently the targets of investment fraud. In an effort to slow the rise in such scams, the AARP Foundation is working with the Investor Protection Trust (IPT), a consumer education group funded by settlements and fines offenders pay to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Using IPT grant funds, AARP Michigan and the state Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS) are developing ways to protect investors against fraud. As a first step, they explored the financial investment experiences, perceptions and knowledge of AARP members in Michigan and found that...

  • 38 percent are extremely or very concerned about being the victim of financial fraud.

  • 55 percent think they are more likely to be the victim of financial fraud now than five years ago

  • 28 percent say that, if they wanted to determine whether an investment product (such as a stock or bond) is legal to sell, they would go first to their personal stockbrokers, followed by personal lawyers (13%), the Better Business Bureau (12%), and the Michigan State Attorney General's Office (12%)

  • 23 percent would report complaints about investment fraud to the state's Attorney General, but only 3 percent would turn to its Office of Financial and Insurance Services

The telephone survey of 800 AARP members was conducted for AARP by Woelfel Research, Inc. between June 9th and 15th, 2006. Further information about the survey may be obtained by contacting Dr. Silberman, the report's author, at 202-434-6339. (15 pages)