Saving Boomers (and Depression Babies) from "Free Lunches"

In the good old days of the Twentieth Century, like 12 or 15 years ago, the Trust Department of The First National Bank of Portsmouth, NH, held an annual investment seminar and luncheon for clients and friends. They presented good programs (I remember Stu Varney as one guest speaker) and pretty good food.

The bank is long gone. Even the venue, Yoken's Conference Center, lost a fight with bulldozers a year or two ago.

These days, seniors who answer invitations to "seminars" with "free lunches" find themselves swimming with sharks, not chatting with trust officers. So great is the danger that the SEC, in partnership with NASAA, has announced a new program to protect senior investors.

Sobering thought from SEC Chairman Christopher Cox: "Another American baby boomer will turn 60 every eight seconds for the next 20 years."