Posts belonging to Category Wachovia



What are Structured Products and Why are They so Dangerous?

 

Investors in today’s markets, particularly seniors, are caught between extremely low interest rates and the risk of pursuing higher returns they want or need. Brokerage firms are capitalizing on that dilemma by selling structured products as a way to earn above-market returns purportedly without market risk. But as Robert Powel, editor of MarketWatch’s Retirement Weekly, […]

Magnetar CDO Deals Haunt Wall Street Firms

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission is broadening its investigation into the world of “built to fail” collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) by looking at Merrill Lynch’s CDO business, according to articles by Marian Wang of Pro Publica (“Merrill Lynch Investigated for CDO Deal Involving Magnetar”) and Kara Scannell of the Financial Times (“SEC Probes $1.5 Billion […]

Attention Investors – Beware of Structured Products

 

FINRA CEO Richard Ketchum recently stated that structured products are “areas of concern” for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), according to a Bloomberg article by Jesse Hamilton and Alexis Leondis entitled “Finra’s Ketchum Says Structured Products Are ‘Areas of Concern.’” If FINRA is concerned, it better act fast. “Sales of structured products rose 46 […]

Wells Fargo’s Auction Rate Securities Woes Continue

 

Wells Fargo Securities LLC is the subject of an investor class action lawsuit alleging that it violated intended third-party beneficiaries of an auction rate securities settlement with the SEC by refusing to buy back auction rate securities from trusts that purchased and held those securities as trust property, according to a Law360 article by Richard […]

Wells Fargo/Wachovia Settles CDO Price-Gouging Charges

 

Wells Fargo & Co. has agreed to pay $11.2 million to settle SEC charges that Wachovia Capital Markets LLC sold mortgage-backed securities called collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) at prices that were 70% higher than its own estimate of the mark-to-market value of the securities, according to articles by Liz Skinner of InvestmentNews (“Wells Fargo to […]

Structured Products Aren’t What You Think They Are

 

Structured products are little more than IOUs from issuers and brokers who have come up with complex ways to take investors’ money. They are marketed as “low risk and high yield” ? an oxymoron when dealing with stocks and the market. But to many older, fixed income investors and those tired of low interest money […]

Investor Alert: Are Reverse Convertible “Time Bombs” in Your Portfolio?

 

A recent article published by AARP aptly describes reverse convertible investments as a “time bomb” involving extreme risks for senior citizens and other investors. John F. Wasik’s article entitled “The Time Bomb in Your Nest Egg,” is a “must read” focusing on reverse convertibles and other structured product investments, which are being marketed to conservative […]

Are Brokerage Firms Really the Trusted Financial Advisers that Their Advertisements Claim that They Are?

 

Expecting licensed professionals who provide investment advice to act in their clients’ best interests “should be a basic tenet of the business,” but brokerage firms and their brokers don’t want that fiduciary yoke, says Karen Blumenthal in her InvestmentNews article, “When Your Adviser Can’t Be Trusted.” Moreover, they don’t want the public to know that […]

Victims of Investment Malpractice or Other Financial Misconduct During the Recent Financial Crisis May Be on the Verge of Losing Legal Rights

 

If you are an investor who lost money in the financial crisis, your stockbroker or investment advisor may owe you money. There are a variety of legal claims that can be brought for investment malpractice, ranging from fraud and misrepresentation to making unsuitable investment recommendations. But there are also legal deadlines for bringing such claims, […]

Investor Alert – Former Wachovia Securities Brokers William Harrison and Eddie Sawyers (d/b/a “Harrison/Sawyers Financial Services)

 

Two Wachovia Securities brokers sold 42 unsophisticated Wachovia clients supposedly “can’t-miss” investments that resulted in $8 million of losses, according to a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, as reported in an InvestmentNews article titled “Ex-Wachovia brokers accused of defrauding client.” Most of the victims were over 50 years of age and a […]