Consumer Protection & Investor Education

The Securities Enforcement and Investor Education Fund was established by the New Mexico Legislature.  To fulfill that mandate, the Division Investor Education Program conducts a coordinated community outreach effort designed to reach as many New Mexicans as possible through a variety of communications channels.

The Program mission is to reduce the incidence of investment fraud and financial abuse by providing all New Mexicans with the information they need to make appropriate financial decisions.  The primary emphasis is on fraud prevention, with the secondary objective of educating the public in the basic principles of personal financial management and sound investing.

Americans now put more money into investments each year than into savings accounts. Unfortunately, millions of dollars are lost by New Mexico investors through securities fraud, sales abuses, or an investor’s failure to be fully educated on a particular issue. Frequently, these losses represent savings that have been painstakingly accumulated over many years or retirement funds that cannot be replaced. Victims are of all ages and levels of sophistication. In the majority of these losses, none of the investors’ money is ever recovered. It is our hope to help prevent some of these losses.

Because state and federal securities regulators can’t prevent all of the securities frauds and abuses that may occur in New Mexico, the Investor Education Program is designed to help investors protect themselves.