Prudent Man Standards

Being prudent just means being respectful, careful, measured…

And the prudent person standards are set up to protect shady brokers from getting little old ladies investing in very risky vehicles like penny stocks, wild-cat oil-well digging, and the investing equivalent of lottery tickets.

For details on what is not prudent, see The Wolf of Wall Street. You gotta know what you're doing, people, and you can't plead ignorance if something gets screwed up.

Find other enlightening terms in Shmoop Finance Genius Bar(f)