Posts belonging to Category Investor Alerts
Posted by Page PerryonNovember 23, 2012
MassMutual failed to disclose risks associated with certain Guaranteed Minimum Income Benefit riders (specifically its GMIB 5 and GMIB 6 riders) and must now pay $1.65 million to settle SEC charges that it misled variable annuity investors.
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Insurance Products, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, SEC Whistleblowers, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Variable Annuities and Equity-Indexed Annuities
Posted by Page PerryonNovember 21, 2012
William D. Cohan, who worked on Wall Street as a senior mergers and acquisitions banker for 15 years, has a theory on why no Wall senior executives have been sued by regulators or prosecuted for their roles in the waves of fraud and malfeasance we have witnessed in the last decade. The senior executives blame […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Financial Industry Whistleblowers, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Regulatory Developments, SEC Whistleblowers, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonNovember 20, 2012
The SEC has busted operators of a prime bank fraud (a type of ponzi scheme) that took in $15 million from at least 220 investors in more than 20 states, primarily Georgia. The operators were Billy W. McClintock, a Florida resident, Dianne Alexander aka Linda Dianne Alexander, a California resident (formerly of Georgia), two entities […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Elder Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Promissory Notes, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonNovember 20, 2012
New research confirms that investors still do not trust financial markets and regulators do not believe they are able to police them. Commenting on a survey done by State Street Center for Applied Research, Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig observes that individual investors’ behavior contradicts their stated goals, and that institutional investors are plunging […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Market Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonNovember 19, 2012
The SEC has settled two mortgage-backed securities actions against J. P. Morgan Chase and Credit Suisse for over $400 million. The enforcement actions arose out more than $1 billion in losses by investors during the financial crisis. Critics say that the settlements are just a cost of doing business and will not deter similar Wall […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Asset Backed Securities, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Credit Suisse, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, J. P. Morgan Chase, Misrepresentation/Omission, Mortgage Backed Securities, Mortgage Securities & Collateralized Debt Obligation Problems, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonNovember 15, 2012
The Securities and Exchange Commission has ramped up enforcement actions against investment advisors, broker-dealers and senior executives over the past two years, the agency said in a statement. SEC Chairman Mary Shapiro attributed the increased activity in part to a reorganization that includes special units staffed by experts in the complex financial products and transactions […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Closed End Funds, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Money Market Funds, Mutual Funds, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools
Posted by Page PerryonOctober 30, 2012
Variable prepaid forward transactions result in a huge judgment against JPMorgan. An Oklahoma state court judge recently found that JPMorgan Chase breached its fiduciary duty as a co-trustee of a trust and ordered it to pay more than $18 million, including punitive damages for “reckless disregard for the rights of others.” In a 32-page opinion, […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, J. P. Morgan Chase, Misrepresentation/Omission, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Stocks, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonOctober 25, 2012
Investors and their advisers should be very cautious about purchasing and holding municipal bonds and municipal bond funds, and be mindful of the possible deleterious effects of the fiscal cliff that is rapidly approaching.
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Economy, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Market Developments, Municipal Bonds, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools
Posted by Page PerryonOctober 22, 2012
There are about 1,500 exchange traded funds on the market today. The recent boom (and bust) of new exchange traded products is mostly in the smaller, exotic and niche end of the spectrum. The problems associated with such products include lack of performance history, illiquidity, volatility, over concentration, and sometimes (for the funds themselves) death.
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools
Posted by Page PerryonOctober 22, 2012
The SEC has charged a New Jersey-based hedge fund, Yorkville Advisors LLC, and officers with fraudulently overvaluing illiquid investments in order to attract investors to their hedge fund. Attracting more investors increases hedge fund fees, which are based on a percentage of the amount of money the fund manages. The charges are part of a […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Hedge Funds, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
