NFA will present a seminar on how to avoid investment fraud and participate in a Financial Literacy and Education Fair as part of Chicago's Seventh Annual Money Smart Week, April 20-26. Money Smart Week, sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, offers more than 350 free educational classes, seminars and activities that focus on financial topics for people of all walks of life.

NFA staff presented "Don't Become a Victim of Investment Fraud" at the Harold Washington Library Center on Tuesday, April 22. A second presentation will be held at the Lincoln Park Branch on Saturday, April 26 at 2:00 p.m. Attendees will learn how to tell a legitimate investment sales pitch from a fake one, as well as what questions to ask and actions to take when reviewing any investment offer. Admission to the program is free. For additional information, contact Ruth Hong at (312) 781-1371 or the Chicago Public Library at (312) 747-4056.

On Wednesday, April 23, NFA joined several other financial agencies at a Financial Literacy and Education Fair at the State of Illinois Building, 100 W. Randolph Street. Regulatory agencies, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., will distribute information on financial protection, banking, credit and investment. The event will run from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. For additional information, contact the Illinois Secretary of State Securities Department at (800) 628-7937.

NFA is sponsoring an information booth at the Los Angeles Traders Expo on June 18-21 at the Ontario Convention Center. NFA staff will distribute copies of NFA's investor education materials and demonstrate how to conduct a background check of a futures firm or individual using NFA's Web-based Background Affiliation Status Information Center (BASIC).

Do you know where to go to check out financial professionals and report investment fraud? Do you know how to get the best help for dealing with broker bankruptcies, identity theft and 401(k) claims? Do you know where to file arbitration and mediation claims?

Luckily, the answer to all of these questions can be found on one Web site: www.HelpForInvestors.org. The Web site, developed by the Alliance for Investor Education (AIE), combines 14 key links to investor information all on a single Web page.

The content featured on the Web page cuts across the entire investment community represented in AIE's membership ranks, including National Futures Association, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

During these current turbulent market times, it's essential that investors understand the safeguards in place to protect their account assets. The level of customer protection differs depending on the type of investment you are trading and the type of firm holding the account.

• Always conduct due diligence before you invest;
• Ensure that the entities you are dealing with are properly registered with the appropriate regulatory agency;
• Read the small print on any account agreement you sign;
• Understand the type of accounts you are holding; and
• Know what protections are available to you.

For additional information, contact the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) at www.sipc.org, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission at www.cftc.gov and the North American Securities Administrators Association at www.nasaa.org.

In the first quarter of 2008, NFA's Business Conduct Comittee issued Decisions, Member Responsibility Actions and Final Orders in Registration Cases against the following NFA Member firms and individuals. Click on the name for more detailed information.

Decisions in Disciplinary Cases 11 Trading Inc. 2GTT LLC Advanced Markets, Inc. Jason Black Black Flag Capital Partners LLC Anthony P. Brocco Commercial Hedge Services Inc. Cornerstone Capital Management LLC Easton Bay Capital Management Eiger Investment Group Geoffrey Gooch Joerg Heierle IFX Markets, Inc. Wallace N. Jordan Jordan Assets Ltd. Majestic Commodity Corporation, et al. David A. Moore Ryan J. Nettles Joseph T. Profit, Jr. Andres Rodriguez Stonebridge Financial Services LLC Suoritus Partners LLC Frank M. Vecchio Victory Investment Management LLC Lawrence J. Volf James A. Ward World Trade Financial Inc. Member Responsibility Actions Yehuda Belsky Innovative Capital Management LLC Final Orders in Registration Cases Frank Caruso Benjamin A. Follansbee Mark S. Jakubowski Maxim Torbin Brian M. Young