Posts belonging to Category Affinity Fraud
Posted by Page PerryonMay 14, 2012
Elder financial abuse is an “epidemic” and likely to become much worse given that 77 million baby boomers are entering their so-called “retirement” years (See “Golden years? Financial elder-abuse now epidemic,” Andrew Osterland, InvestmentNews). Between 500,000 and 5 million elders are abused, neglected or exploited each year, and the abuse is often unreported. “Elders can […]
Categories: Affinity Fraud, Brokerage Firms, Elder Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Insurance Products, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Ponzi Schemes, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonMay 14, 2012
Approximately 81% of 974 surveyed investors said that they expect their financial advisor to be able to explain the array of investment products on the market today (See InvestmentNews, “Clients: So many investment products, so little understanding”). “Advisers must stay on top of the latest investment products because many investors say they’re overwhelmed by investment […]
Categories: Affinity Fraud, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Elder Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Rights, Misrepresentation/Omission, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonApril 16, 2012
City Capital Corp. and two former executives operated an $11 million Ponzi scheme that targeted socially conscious investors in church settings, according to charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Categories: Affinity Fraud, Elder Abuses, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Promissory Notes, Regulatory Developments, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonApril 12, 2012
The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), an organization comprised of the 50 state securities regulators, believes that the crowd funding provisions of the so-called JOBS Act are just another “Regulation D-like rip-off,” according to InvestmentNews (“Crowd funding draws scorn from NASAA,” by Mark Schoff Jr.). Regulation D provides a registration exemption for certain investments […]
Categories: Affinity Fraud, Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Crowd Funding, Early Retirement Scams, Elder Abuses, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Promissory Notes, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Stocks
Posted by Page PerryonApril 9, 2012
CFO.com, a publication geared specifically for finance executives, says that the JOBS Act may not be all it’s cracked up to be, as there are both more new regulations and less incentives for start-ups to go public than has previously been reported in some financial publications (“JOBS Act Turns Spotlight on Crowdfunding,” by Sarah Johnson, […]
Categories: Affinity Fraud, Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Crowd Funding, Economy, Elder Abuses, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Jobs, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools
Posted by Page PerryonMarch 26, 2012
U.S. News & World Report has posted an article to help investors deal with the constant bombardment of unsolicited sales pitches and investment advice, which could be great, but is more likely substandard, and may be deadly. The article by David Ning, “7 Ways to Avoid Financial Product Scams,” purports to present “seven ways to […]
Categories: Affinity Fraud, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Early Retirement Scams, Insurance Products, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Ponzi Schemes, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools
Posted by Page PerryonFebruary 20, 2012
While fraudsters are with us always, they are especially active in times like these when extremely low interest rates and stock market volatility have made conventional stock and bond investments unattractive and have given rise to a multitude of alternative investments, some of which may be fraudulent. To help combat this, the Certified Financial Planner […]
Categories: Affinity Fraud, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Insurance Products, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools
Posted by Page PerryonFebruary 3, 2012
Affinity fraud is a big problem and it is growing. The affinity aspect of it refers generally to the fraudster’s standing as an insider among a group of people who share a common interest. This standing as a member of the group, so to speak, makes the fraudster presumptively trustworthy. Unfortunately, affinity settings are breeding […]
Categories: Affinity Fraud, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Private Investments/Reg D, Promissory Notes, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonFebruary 2, 2012
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently issued a report outlining is its regulatory and examination priorities for 2012. The securities industry regulator is focusing on conduct and products meant to beat the market that are unsuitable investments for many investors.
Categories: Affinity Fraud, Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, CDOs, Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Derivatives, Elder Abuses, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Insurance Products, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Life Policies/Viatical Settlements, Misrepresentation/Omission, Mortgage Backed Securities, Mortgage Securities & Collateralized Debt Obligation Problems, Municipal Bonds, Nontraded REITs, Private Investments/Reg D, Regulatory Developments, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Structured Notes, Unsuitable Recommendations, Variable Annuities and Equity-Indexed Annuities
Posted by Page PerryonJanuary 20, 2012
The Wall Street Journal has reported that financial scams against the elderly are becoming so commonplace that the National Council on Aging calls them the “crime of the 21st century” (“Scams to Watch Out For,” WSJ). It describes investment scams against baby boomers (those over age 50) as being “rampant.” (“Boomers Wearing Bull’s-Eyes,” WSJ, Kelly […]
Categories: Affinity Fraud, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Elder Abuses, Insurance Products, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Ponzi Schemes, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools
