Jeremy Roseberry of Investor Protection Initiative Testifies at FTC 'Junk Fees' Hearing Regarding Unlawful Tax Charges for 160 Million US Investors

Calls for Immediate SEC and FTC Action to Uphold Constitutional Rights and End Illegal Over-Taxation of American Investors 

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeremy Roseberry, representative of the Investor Protection Initiative (IPI), an investor advocacy group, testified today before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding unlawfully collected and poorly disclosed hidden fees extracted from virtually all American retail investors in mutual funds and dividend-paying equities. The IPI estimates that these charges amount to more than $100 billion annually.

Roseberry was invited to today's hearing, "Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees" to provide testimony about the danger of "buying a dividend," the unmet obligations of the financial industry to inform investors and mitigate damages from this practice, and critical steps that the government may take to provide relief to the public.

"The damages from buying a dividend are among the most far-reaching and impactful deceptive fees impacting Americans," Roseberry said. " The government must act today to return billions of dollars to retail investors and ensure that the financial industry is permanently prevented from assessing these predatory charges. 160 million Americans are waiting for action, as the integrity of our institutions hangs in the balance." 

In his testimony, Roseberry urgently called on the Securities and Exchange Commission to take swift action to protect investors from ongoing harm and pressed the FTC to expedite the finalization of their Trade Regulation Rule that will ban these harmful practices.

"Over the past five years, I have worked tirelessly for the American people, meeting with hundreds of senior executives and industry gatekeepers throughout the U.S. financial industry, including major stock exchanges, asset managers, security issuers, and countless others. Our discussions focused on promoting the adoption of technology that reveals hidden costs to investors before they purchase and addresses the underlying over-taxation to protect them from losses.

"While all industry gatekeepers admitted to the stated risks and ongoing harm to investors, they expressed zero interest in making these risks transparent or in protecting their clients from these ongoing losses."

More information about IPI and "buying a dividend" may be found at: www.protectinvestors.org.

About The Investor Protection Initiative: The Investor Protection Initiative is an investor advocacy group that advocates for investors' rights and the enforcement of our nation's security laws. The Investor Protection Initiative is managed by BattleLine, LLC.  

SOURCE Investor Protection Initiative