Consumer Reports Money & Shopping Blog: SEC says 'free' lunches cost investors dearly

July 2, 2009

SEC says 'free' lunches cost investors dearly

Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission took action against a New York-based financial services firm, accusing it of selling inappropriate products to elderly investors.

"They used free lunches as the low-tech bait for their high-scale scheme," Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, says in the press release announcing the move.

Regular readers will recall that we have long been party poopers when it comes to free-lunch seminars. Nor are we big fans of the product the company in question was allegedly selling, variable annuities.

Our advice: Avoid variable annuities unless you know exactly what you're getting yourself into. As for lunch, it's usually cheaper in the long run to buy your own. For some suggestions, our Ratings of 101 restaurant chains are available to subscribers here. --Greg Daugherty

Greg writes the “Retirement Guy” column each month in the Consumer Reports Money Adviser newsletter.

Tags: Retirement planning | Scams | All Money & Shopping Blog Categories

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