Experts are seeing signs of bubbles in stocks, bonds and farmland. This froth is basically the result of the Federal Reserve’s policy of credit easing – implemented primarily by its purchase of Treasuries and mortgage securities, which lowers interest rates and drives investors into riskier assets. The Fed’s primary reason for doing this is to […]
Make Sure that you Understand Structured Products before Investing
Post by Alan Perry on
January 24, 2013
Dangers lurk in structured notes. Structured notes have become very popular with investors. In fact, Wall Street firms like JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs created and sold over $10 billion of structured notes tied to the S&P 500 stock index in 2012. The allure, unfortunately, may be misleading. These investment products have […]
More Problems in the NonTraded REITs World
Post by Alan Perry on
January 21, 2013
Leo Wells, CEO of Wells Real Estate Funds, told broker-dealers that his firm will not register any new nontraded REITs pending new guidelines that are expected to be published by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). He indicated that his firm needs “clarity” before marketing any new products (“All’s not well as Wells halts REIT […]
Today’s ‘Alternative Investments’ Resemble ‘Limited Partnerships’ of the Past
Post by Page Perry on
January 8, 2013
Wall Street’s recent promotion of alternative investments should warrant serious concern among investors. It serves as an unpleasant example of history repeating itself. In the mid-1980s, Wall Street firms became enamored with limited partnerships (a form of alternative investment) that invested in so-called hard assets, paid the firms high commissions and fees, were illiquid and […]
Hedge Funds Under Regulatory Scrutiny
Post by Page Perry on
January 7, 2013
The SEC has hired hedge fund industry professionals to assist in its investigation of problems and abuses in the hedge fund industry. Three SEC enforcement units are involved in the investigations: the Asset Management unit headed by Bruce Karpati, the Market Abuse unit, and the Structured and New Products unit. The SEC has brought over […]
Approach Actively Traded ETFs with Caution
Post by Page Perry on
January 7, 2013
A recent change in policy by the SEC could have a significant impact on the risk profile of some ETFs. In response to pressure from the industry, the SEC has lifted its moratorium on the use of derivatives by certain exchange traded funds. This move is expected to result in an increase in the number […]
More Investors Believe the Stock Market is Rigged
Post by Page Perry on
January 4, 2013
The sense that the stock market is rigged became the majority view of disgusted investors in 2012, according to a Yahoo Finance article, “In 2012, Many Felt the Market Was Rigged.” This view is attributable to many factors, including the complexity and lack of transparency of multiple exchanges and alternative networks and the degree to […]
SEC Whistleblower Laws Are Working
Post by Page Perry on
January 3, 2013
Securities firms and their general counsel are openly worried about the SEC’s whistleblower program. They fought tooth and nail to stop the program, arguing that whistleblowers would bypass the companies’ internal channels and take information straight to the SEC. However, the program is in place and the first award was granted in August, with the […]
Hedge Funds – Too Much Hype, Too Little Performance
Post by Page Perry on
January 2, 2013
The financial press is increasingly critical of an investment product it glamorized in the past ? hedge funds. As a group they have underperformed unmanaged stock and balanced fund indices for the last 10 years while enriching fund managers. Yet more hedge funds continue to come on line. The question is why do they continue […]
Municipal Bonds Plummet
Post by Page Perry on
December 29, 2012
The lowest yields in 40 years and concern over their tax-exempt status sent municipal bonds into their worst monthly decline since 2010, according to InvestmentNews (“Munis take worst pounding since Meredith Whitney”). As of December 21, municipals were on track to lose 1.9 per cent of their market value for the month. Thanks to the […]