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The Investor Protection Association for America
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Saturday, 07 June 2008
By Andy Carpenter
It’s likely that if you have not yet received a letter from the Investor Protection Association for America you’re about to.
I just got mine. When you get yours just throw it way without opening it. It is a total come on… as are others like it.
What it is, is a two-page letter from the IPAA that cries, “Congress is making decisions that affect your financial future. Tell them what you think.”
Then there is a bunch of stuff about how skyrocketing energy prices can affect your financial future and how you need to fill out the page-two questionnaire in order to let the leadership “of both houses of Congress know your positions on these important issues.”
Now, without even looking at page two, I knew the questionnaire would focus on oil and energy policy. And, yup, four of the nine “real” questions did. The tenth question wanted to know my age range.

Then, under the tenth question was a note that said, “Please note: It may be necessary to contact you regarding some aspects of this survey.” So I was supposed to give my day and home phone numbers before I returned the postage paid envelope.

Now, the Investor Protection Association for America claims to be located at 5505 Connecticut Ave, Washington DC. But, the return envelope is addressed to  1718 M St. NW in Washington… that location, I believe, is right across from the National Geographic Society.

That’s in the 17th and Connecticut neighborhood for those of you who know DC as well as my wife Lynn and I do.

Anyway, there is no physical business called Investor Protection Association For America listed at either address. Nothing remotely close. But, what each address has in common is a UPS Store (formerly Mail Box Etc stores).

    And, as long as you fill out the appropriate (federal) US Postal Service form, the UPS store will forward that mail on to you no matter where you are in the US. Oh, but that downtown DC address sounds so official, doesn’t it?
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Sadly, though the concept is noble, I suspect that the Investor Protection Association for America is nothing more that a lead generation business. It collects phone numbers it matches to addresses and then sells them for a profit.

My guess is it works this way. The freshest of its 138,640 names are sold at a very expensive rate to people who sell stuff like oil and gas opportunities via the telephone. They probably have exclusive rights to those names for a month or so.

Then the names are marketed to people who do direct mail. Somewhere in between $135 and $150 buys you 1,000 names, but there is a 5,000-name minimum. One website lists the IPAA responders as having:

“[T]he discretionary income to invest in stocks, bonds, annuities, commodities, mutual funds, oil and gas, and hedge funds as well as subscribe to publications, books and fundraising offers.”
In fact, the Investor Protection Association for America’s list broker reports that in March 2008 the following groups rented those names:
  •  Financial Institution
  • Intelligent Investor Report
  •  Vector Vest

TESTS:
  • Danbury Hill    Forbes
  • Giuliani Presidential Committee
  • Institute for Justice
  • Money Magazine
  • Morningstar
  • National Review
  • StreetAuthority, LLC
  • Wall Street Journal           

Do yourself a favor, there are more than enough mainstream ways for Forbes or the WSJ to acquire your name, so protect yourself from the Investor Protection Association for America – just toss its mail away.
Have a great weekend.

Andy
P.S.  To let me know what you thought of today's article, send an e-mail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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  Reviews (7)
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1. Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , on 29-10-2009 06:25
I have only been returning this sort of mail as an empty envelope, but this is SO much better! Almost makes receiving this crap fun. Now I will gladly stuff envelopes with trash I no longer need. :)
2. Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , on 20-10-2009 00:50
I returned mine without the survey and asked them polity to "KISS MY ASS"!!!
3. Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , on 31-07-2009 10:06
Thanks for the heads-up on this outfit. Great ideas for replies! My own system, when I don't have time to prep the dead-weight, is to at least return the form in the prepaid envelope, but with my name and address cut out, and in the phone number space: 
1-800-YOU(freaking)WISH
4. Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , on 27-07-2009 00:05
better yet: cut out your name/address from the survery, answer the non-oil questions, send it back...
5. Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , on 11-07-2009 07:33
More amusing about Investor Protection for America is the six typos I found on just two pages. Nice.
6. Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , on 05-04-2009 22:42
Here is what all of us could do to eventually eliminate unscrupulous entites like Investor Protection Association of America - 
 
1 Take an index card or stiff carboard (like a ceral box) to fit inside the prepaid envelop 
 
2 Tape pennies two high to cover the piece of cardboard or index card. 
 
3 Cover over with another piece of cardboard or index card (this is a safety issue) and insert into the prepaid postage envelop. 
 
4 Drop it in a US Postal Service box WITHOUT your address or anything inside.  
 
If enough people will do this, these companies will eventuall go out of business having to paid the return postage on a 1 pound envelop. 
 
Technically, you could fill small box with all the junk mail you receive in a year and mail it back to the crappy entity of your choosing - as long as the preparid envelop is taped to the face of the box, THEY HAVE TO PAY THE POSTAGE. 
 
We accomplish two things in doing this: 
 
One, we continue to ensure viable business for the US Postal Service; and 
 
Two, we force these type of companies into bankruptcy. 
 
They will not send garbage like this without a prepaid envelop - because few people want to pay the postage for something they may not be certain about to begin with. 
 
Use your imagination - if some company sends me unsolicited mail to my mail box, and provides a postage paid envelop - BELIEVE ME - THEY ARE GOING TO GET SOMETHING - USUALLY PRETTY WEIGHTY - BACK AT THEIR EXPENSE.
7. Written by Jim Morris, on 22-02-2009 04:25
Sounds like your using the same tactics.

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