Posts belonging to Category Bank of America
Posted by Alan PerryonFebruary 25, 2013
Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay $12 million to settle wage and hour class action lawsuits filed by employees seeking compensation for overtime. The period in dispute is between 2010 and 2012. The employees are referred to as “client associates,” whose job is to support the financial advisers by serving clients and developing new business […]
Categories: Bank of America, Brokerage Firms, Economy, Employment Issues, Investment Advisers, Jobs, Market Developments, Merrill Lynch, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonJanuary 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 […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Ameriprise, Asset Backed Securities, Bank of America, Brokerage Firms, Citigroup Hedge Funds, Closed End Funds, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), Exchange Traded Products (ETPs), Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Hedge Funds, High Yield (Junk) Bonds, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Limited Partnerships, LPL Financial, Merrill Lynch, Misrepresentation/Omission, Non-Traded Business Development Companies, Nontraded REITs, Oil & Gas, Peer to Peer Loans, Private Equity Investments, Private Investments/Reg D, Promissory Notes, REITs, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Unsuitable Recommendations, Variable Annuities and Equity-Indexed Annuities
Posted by Page PerryonDecember 19, 2012
Investors are being sold more and more alternative investments and large broker-dealers are ramping up to supply that demand, according to the Wall Street Journal (“Alternatives Get a Boost”). The trouble is that most investors do not fully understand these products and their brokerage firm advisers do not fairly explain the risks and problems associated […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Ameriprise, Asset Backed Securities, Bank of America, Brokerage Firms, Church Bonds, Closed End Funds, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Crowd Funding, Derivatives, Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), Exchange Traded Products (ETPs), Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Hedge Funds, High Yield (Junk) Bonds, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Limited Partnerships, LPL Financial, Merrill Lynch, Misrepresentation/Omission, Mortgage Backed Securities, Mortgage Securities & Collateralized Debt Obligation Problems, Non-Traded Business Development Companies, Nontraded REITs, Oil & Gas, Private Equity Investments, Private Investments/Reg D, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Structured Notes, Tenant-in-Common Interests, Unsuitable Recommendations, Variable Annuities and Equity-Indexed Annuities
Posted by Page PerryonAugust 1, 2012
The former co-head of UBS AG’s municipal-derivatives group, and two ex-colleagues are defendants in a municipal bond bid-rigging case being tried before U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood in Manhattan (“Ex-UBS execs on trial in muni bid-rigging case,” InvestmentNews).
Categories: Auction Rate Securities, Bank of America, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, J. P. Morgan Chase, Misrepresentation/Omission, Municipal Bonds, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, UBS, Wells Fargo
Posted by Page PerryonJuly 9, 2012
Bloomberg reports that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) summarily removed from its roster three arbitrators who served together on a case in which the investor was awarded more than $500,000 and has refused to even discuss the matter with the arbitrators, despite the absence of any impropriety. (“Wall Street’s Captive Arbitrators Strike Again,” by […]
Categories: Bank of America, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Investor Rights, Merrill Lynch, Misrepresentation/Omission, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonJune 27, 2012
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined Merrill Lynch $2.8 million for overcharging nearly 95,000 customers with fees totaling more than $32 million. The overcharges occurred from April 2003 to December 2011. The fine also included failing to provide timely trade confirmations. (“Merrill Lynch Fined for Overcharging Customers,” Wall Street Journal).
Categories: A General Overview, Bank of America, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Merrill Lynch, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonMay 22, 2012
Last week lawyers representing Goldman Sachs and Bank of America/Merrill Lynch inadvertently released embarrassing documents detailing unethical trading practices and complete disregard for the interests of smaller clients (See “Accidentally Released ? and Incredibly Embarrassing ? Documents Show How Goldman et al Engaged in ‘Naked Short Selling,’” Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone and “Goldman, Merrill E-Mails […]
Categories: Bank of America, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Goldman Sachs, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Merrill Lynch, Misrepresentation/Omission, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonMay 2, 2012
Wall Street banks could soon cut as many as 21,000 jobs in New York alone, say Wall Street consultants and recruiters. Worldwide cuts could be even larger (“Large layoffs loom on Wall Street,” Stephen Gandel, CNN Money). While the stock market is up this year, and many smaller investment banks have been hiring, and the […]
Categories: Bank of America, Barclays, Brokerage Firms, Credit Suisse, Economy, Employment Issues, Goldman Sachs, Jobs, Market Developments, Merrill Lynch, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonMarch 6, 2012
The Wall Street Journal and others are reporting that Merrill Lynch has upped its recruiting package for top-40 percent advisers by offering an upfront cash bonus of 150 percent of the fees and commissions they generate from clients. In addition, they are eligible to receive back-end awards, including 25 percent of production at their prior […]
Categories: Bank of America, Brokerage Firms, Employment Issues, Merrill Lynch, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonFebruary 8, 2012
As Wall Street continues to question why its business is declining, a recent Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration case provides part of the answer. The arbitration panel ordered Bank of America Merrill Lynch (Merrill Lynch) to pay $1.38 million to an investor who lost money in a complex structured product composed of pooled loans […]
Categories: Bank of America, Brokerage Firms, CDOs, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Merrill Lynch, Misrepresentation/Omission, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Unsuitable Recommendations
