Posts belonging to Category Investment Malpractice



Aging of Population Raises the Bar for Advisers

 

The problems of elder financial abuse and loss of cognitive faculties due to aging are on a steep upward trend. The inability to manage money and make sound financial decisions is one of the earliest indications of Alzheimer’s disease.  Financial advisers should look out for clients who stop paying bills, seem addled about their assets, […]

Financial Services Whistleblower Cases – A New Twist

 

Financial service industry whistleblower claims have become a hot item. Ironically, it is even reported that a crowd funding website is being used by an individual who hopes to raise money from people interested in investing in a portfolio of financial whistleblower claims.  Of course, crowd funding is one of the newest and most controversial […]

Alternative Investments are no Panacea

 

Why do investors continue to be enamored with hedge funds and other alternative investments? The press recently reported that institutional investors are expected to increase allocations to hedge funs by 300% this year, and hedge fund assets are expected to increase by 11% to $2.5 trillion, according to the 11th annual survey of institutional investors […]

Bond Market – ‘Irrational Exuberance?’

 

Recent warnings regarding dangers in the bond market were recently issued by bond maestro Bill Gross. These warnings are reminiscent of Alan Greenspan’s implicit warning in a 1996 speech when he asked: “How do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values, which then become subject to unexpected and prolonged contractions?”  Specifically, Mr. […]

DOJ’s New Strategy for Dealing with White Collar Fraud

 

Is the federal government really getting tougher on white-collar crime? Faced with criticism for not holding big banks and their senior executives accountable for their behavior leading up to the financial crisis, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), which prosecutes federal crime cases, is developing a new model for dealing with alleged financial crimes perpetrated […]

Financial Advisers Face Growing Risks from Aging Population

 

As the population ages and investors’ financial acumen decline, financial advisers will be forced to assume additional duties and responsibilities in order to avoid liability exposure. For example, Alzheimer’s disease will raise legal and ethical challenges for investment advisers over the next 40 years as the incidence of that dread disease is expected to nearly […]

Financial Advisers – What Are They Hiding?

 

Financial advisers continue to object to a recent rule that grants securities regulators more access to potentially relevant documents under the adviser’s control. The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a rule change proposed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) that significantly increases FINRA’s ability to discover a member firm’s documents.  FINRA is now […]

Low Yields Push Investors into Very Risky Alternatives

 

The financial world continues to beat the drum warning investors about the risk of bonds.  When interest rates rise (or when the market believes a significant rise in interest rates is imminent) bond prices will fall, and investors in bond funds and individual bonds will suffer declines in value and/or losses.  Retirees and others, who […]

Deutsche Bank Loses $934,000 in Arbitration

 

On February 8, 2013, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel ordered Deutsche Bank and its former registered representative, Karl Hahn, to pay $934,000 to a couple who had sought to recover $2,193,931 for losses associated with the improper sale of premium-financed life insurance.  The award included $100,000 in attorney’s fees.  Hahn worked in […]

Alternative Investments – Often Tainted by Sales Practice Abuses

 

Investors in search of fixed income have poured money into a variety of alternative investments, including nontraded real estate investment trusts (REITs).  Alternative investments encompass most investments other than traditional stocks and bonds and mutual funds that hold stocks and/or bonds.  There are three basic clusters of problems that investors who are considering these products […]