Fraud and Scam Awareness

Be alert to fraud and scams:

Fraud and scams are increasingly prevalent. As technology makes our world smaller, it also makes it easier for criminals to target you through a variety of sources including messaging applications and social media platforms, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. Further, online scams offering fake investment opportunities and/or fake investment advice are becoming more sophisticated, which can make identifying fraud and scams more difficult.

You may be able to reduce the risk that you will be the victim of fraud or a scam by taking the time to critically evaluate whether an offer for investment advice and/or an investment opportunity is fraud or a scam. Below is a discussion of some things to consider in that evaluation.

Please note that the materials provided in this Fraud and Scam Awareness page are not exhaustive.

We encourage you to seek further information on investment fraud and scam awareness before accepting or acting on investment advice, or investing any of your money with an individual or company offering investment services. Many credible resources are available online to assist you in developing investment fraud and scam awareness. Below is a list of some of those resources:

• Federal Trade Commission:
  • "Investment Scams": https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/investment-scams
  • "Can you spot an investment scam?": https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/07/can-you-spot-investment-scam
  • "Scams": https://consumer.ftc.gov/scams
• Security and Exchange Commission:
  • "Social Media and Investment Fraud – Investor Alert": https://www.sec.gov/resources-for-investors/investor-alerts-bulletins/social-media-investment-fraud-investor-alert
  • "Fraudsters Posing as Brokers or Investment Advisers": https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/general-resources/news-alerts/alerts-bulletins/investor-alerts/fraudsters-posing-brokers-or-investment-advisers-investor-alert
  • "Investor Alerts and Bulletins": https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/general-resources/news-alerts/alerts-bulletins
• AARP:
  • "Scams & Fraud": https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/

Communications we do NOT engage in:

The Marsico Funds, Marsico Capital Management, LLC ("MCM," the investment adviser to the Marsico Funds), or any employee thereof do not engage in any of the below listed activities. Further, UMB Distribution Services, LLC, or any employee or affiliate thereof, do not engage in any of the below listed activities with regard to promoting the Marsico Funds.

Scammers may impersonate actual employees (such as Tom Marsico) or fictitious employees of the Marsico Funds, Marsico Capital Management, LLC, UMB Distribution Services, LLC, or affiliates thereof. If a purported employee of these entities engages in any of the below listed activities, it is an indicator that the individual is a scammer.

• Present themselves as "agents," "representatives," or "account managers" of the Marsico Funds on any messaging application or social media platform such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.
• Contact potential investors through any messaging applications or social media platforms, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok for any purpose.
• Offer free investment advice or membership in investment clubs.
• Offer training sessions through any messaging applications or social media platforms, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.
• Request payments over any messaging applications or social media platforms, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.
• "Cold call" or send unsolicited emails offering investment products or services.
• Trade in crypto or digital currencies and/or promote investment opportunities in that asset class.
• Request personal information, such as a social security number or any type of account number, through any messaging applications or social media platforms, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.
• Request that you share your password or a security code in order to access any of your online accounts or mobile applications.
• Request payments in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
• Use high pressure sales tactics.
• Request that you provide remote access to your computer (e.g., "share your computer screen").
• Request that you provide additional payments, such as for tax or administrative purposes, before processing a redemption of shares from the Marsico Funds or before returning the principal in your investment account with Marsico Capital Management, LLC.

General "red flags":

• Typos and misspellings:
  • Scammers sometimes create false profiles on social media platforms indicating within that profile or posts to the profile's page that they are associated with a legitimate investment firm. They will often intentionally make minor typos in the firm's name, possibly to frustrate efforts to discover and report those false profiles (e.g., "Marisco" instead of "Marsico" or "Managemnet" instead of "Management"). They may also re-arrange words in firm's name, possibly for similar purposes (e.g., "Marsico Funds Investment" instead of "Marsico Investment Fund").
  • Scammers sometimes send emails from email domains resembling those of legitimate investment firms, which do not align exactly with the private email domains of those firms (e.g., "@MarsicoCapitol.com" instead of "@MarsicoCapital.com"), and may frequently change email addresses or domains as they try to remain hidden from being reported.
  • Scammers may send emails from a public email domain (e.g., gmail.com, outlook.com, yahoo.com, etc.). Public email domains are not used by any employee of the Marsico Funds, Marsico Capital Management, LLC, or UMB Distribution Services, LLC.
    • MCM's official domain is "@marsicocapital.com"
• Investment promises: Scammers may advertise investments that offer guaranteed returns or returns that are too good to be true.
• Training through messaging applications or social media: Scammers may use messaging applications or social media, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, to provide "training" to large audiences through group text chats or through private messages to individuals or groups. They may further have accomplices in those group text chats or private message groups posing as investors falsely claiming that they have earned high returns.
• "Cold calling": Scammers may contact you without prior notice, frequently through messaging applications or social media such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. Scammers may also "cold call" victims through email, text messages, or actual phone calls.
• Sales pressure: Scammers may pressure individuals to do a deal or invest quickly. Highlighting the risk of an opportunity that could be lost if you don't invest immediately may indicate a scam. Further, scammers also may pressure victims to keep the opportunity secret.
• Celebrity testimonials or endorsements: Scammers sometimes use celebrity testimonial and endorsements, including the use of artificial intelligence to generate impersonations of celebrities, to promote scams.
• Requests for payment or sensitive data: Scammers may request payment or sensitive data, including financial information or social security numbers, via text, email, or messaging applications or social media (such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok).
• Additional payment requests: Scammers may request further payments before releasing funds from investments that have already been made (purportedly for tax, administration, or other purposes).
• Individuals or entities that are not registered: Scammers may use the names of individuals or entities that are not registered with financial regulators.
  • Two sources of financial regulator directories are listed below (this is not an exhaustive list):
    • For registered companies, refer to the SEC Company Search: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/legacy/companysearch.html
    • For registered individuals or companies, refer to the FINRA Broker Check: https://brokercheck.finra.org/

How to protect yourself:

• Avoid investing based on social media: Be skeptical and never make investment decisions based solely on information from social media platforms (such as Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok) or other apps, including messaging applications such as WhatsApp. Scammers often use these platforms to manipulate people into "investing" with them.
• Do not assume information is true – develop a skeptical mindset:
  • If provided a link to a professional-looking website for an investment firm, instead search for that investment firm's official website in a reputable internet search engine.
  • If provided with or contacted by a profile for an investment professional via a messaging application or social media platform, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, independently contact that investment firm and confirm (i) that the individual is in fact an employee there and (ii) that the individual would use those applications to contact clients. You can find contact information for many investment firms by searching for the investment firm's official website in a reputable internet search engine.
• Click with caution – be cautious clicking on any hyperlinks: Never click on a hyperlink in an email or message you have received that you were not expecting. If you receive an unexpected hyperlink in an email or other message claiming to be from a company, independently contact the company to confirm that the hyperlink is safe. You can find contact information for many companies by searching for a company's official website in a reputable internet search engine.
• Avoid public Wi-Fi networks: Only use secure and trusted Wi-Fi networks to access ANY sensitive personal information online, such as financial information.
• Operating system and antivirus upgrades: Upgrade/update the operating systems and antivirus software for your computers and devices regularly. Install antivirus software on your computers and devices if you have not done so already.
• Shred: Shred ANY documents containing ANY personal information, including information about your financial investments. Do not just throw documents away.
• Personal information and "cold calls": Do not give out your personal information (such as your date of birth, bank details, PIN numbers, and passwords) to anyone who unexpectedly contacts you through any contact method.
• Payment pressure: Do not make a payment because you feel pressured to do so.
• Remote computer access: Never grant someone that contacted you unexpectedly remote access to your computer or any other device (e.g., "share your computer screen").
• Seek advice: Seek advice from a trusted financial advisor before investing.
• Search for warnings: There are many reputable online sources which publish information related to known scamming methods. Be diligent and use available resources.

What to do if you believe you are the victim of a scam or become aware of a scam:

• Contact your local law enforcement: to determine your next steps if you believe that you have fallen victim to a scam.
• Contact financial regulators: if you believe that you have fallen victim to a scam. Two relevant regulators are:
  • The Federal Trade Commission: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/
  • The Securities and Exchange Commission: https://www.sec.gov/submit-tip-or-complaint/tips-complaints-resources/report-suspected-securities-fraud-or-wrongdoing
• The Marsico Funds: If you believe that you see any fraud or scams using the Marsico Funds' name, please contact the Marsico Funds at (888) 860-8686 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday, and a representative would be happy to assist you.
• Marsico Capital Management, LLC: If you believe that you see any fraud or scams using the name of Marsico Capital Management, LLC, or the names of any actual MCM employees or fictitious employees, please contact Marsico Capital Management, LLC at compliance@marsicocapital.com.