Watching out for your money

The Motley Fool is designed to help you make the most of your money. While we offer plenty of information and suggestions on how to do this, the power to act on this information, and the responsibility that comes with it, lies with you. Following that, this disclaimer protects you as much as it does us. So below we set out some key points you should bear in mind when using our site. These should be read in conjunction with the Terms & Conditions of our service.

A few words about cyberfraud

Some of the information on our discussion boards is provided by our staff, but predominantly it is written by our users, many of whom use anonymous screen names and are people we have never met. Whilst we believe that we have loads of useful information in this forum, people sometimes post messages that are misleading, deceptive, or wrong. They may do this unintentionally or, sad to say, intentionally. Despite the media attention that the latter attracts now and then, we believe these are relatively rare occurrences. Our staff and our users will question any information in posts that they believe may be inaccurate or misleading, and in extreme cases, we remove posts that break our terms and conditions of service.

For more information on cyberfraud: the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published information on internet fraud, and the National Association of Securities Dealers and the Securities and Exchange Commission, whilst both being US organisations, have information on this subject that is equally relevant here in the UK.

Your money, your decision

The Motley Fool does not guarantee the accuracy, veracity, or completeness of any information provided in our forum, and we will not be responsible for any errors or omissions in articles or postings, for links embedded in messages, or for any results obtained from the use of such information. The Motley Fool will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a reader's reliance on information obtained in our area, or in a hyperlinked area. We strongly caution you not to rely on the information you find here to inform your decisions; rather, use it as a starting point for doing your own independent research. Then decide for yourself the accuracy and merits of the information that has been shared in our forum.

Please remember that as cyberspace continues to develop, the freedom and openness from which we all benefit can make us the target of touts and hypesters. These people could infect our forum just as they infect others. Proceed with caution, and be wary of those who post links to strange sites.

Terms of service violations

Please notify us immediately if you have been harassed in any manner or you feel that anything is in violation of the Terms and Conditions of our service. In the case of a board post please use the Report this Post button displayed at the top right of every message. In the case of a user profile please use the Report this Profile button or email us. Please note it is advisable not to include your email address in the text of a post.

Our portfolios

The Motley Fool UK maintains example portfolios that we use to demonstrate methods of portfolio management. Just because we buy a share for a portfolio does not mean that share is right for you. We don't know you, or your needs and goals. The purpose of these portfolios is to teach people about the stock market and how to invest. We are not investment advisers.

What do TMF usernames represent?

You will see some people with the "TMF" prefix to their usernames. These people work for either the Motley Fool UK or our American cousins at Fool.com. Some write content for the site whilst others work in our customer service or administrative departments. They may answer your questions about how the Fool is run and how to navigate our forum.

Many of these TMFs contribute to the discussion of various shares. Their opinions are their own. Our staff are permitted to discuss shares in which they have a beneficial interest but they must disclose that interest. In articles, editorial staff are required to disclose their interest in any company mentioned. You can find this disclosure at the end of each article. On the discussions boards, all staff must either disclose their interest in the relevant message or disclose all their holdings in their user profile. You can find these profiles by typing their user name into the Author box in the bottom right hand corner of our boards index page, or by clicking on their user name at the top of one of their messages. No TMF is allowed to comment about a share in an article, in the media, or on our discussion boards for five days either side of dealing in that share.

Please remember, our staff should not be considered professional analysts or investment advisers. Do not believe that these people have any additional insight or information simply because they have a "TMF" prefix to their name. On the boards the primary function of our staff is to keep the forum running smoothly, with politeness and good humour.

Data and analysis

In the material we make available in our forum, we rely on a wide variety of sources and other websites. We believe these sources of data to be accurate and reliable, but sometimes they may not be. The Fool makes no claims or representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or truth of any material contained in our areas. Nor is The Fool liable for any errors or delays in the content or transmission of the data on our site.

Our advertisers and sponsors

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In our various comparison centres, we may feature a number of providers that have paid The Motley Fool to promote their services to you. We do not recommend one over another and these areas are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all providers of a particular product. It is up to you to decide whether what they offer is right for you. You can find more detailed information about our relationship with our sponsors in the disclosure section of our comparison centres.

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