Posts belonging to Category Regulatory Developments
Posted by Alan PerryonFebruary 18, 2013
Georgia’s elected officials and legislators are ‘dropping the ball’ when it comes to protecting members of the public from investment fraud. State securities regulators have historically been the first line of defense against securities fraud. In recent years, however, lack of funding and resources have crippled the Georgia Securities Division, which is responsible for protecting […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Early Retirement Scams, Elder Abuses, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Alan PerryonFebruary 15, 2013
Citigroup, one bank that has been accused of scamming investors in CDO transactions, appears to have been scammed by another Wall Street Bank, UBS, that engaged in similar activity. The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent lawsuit against Standard & Poor’s has identified dozens of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that were allegedly given the highest AAA […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, CDOs, Citigroup/Smith Barney, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Mortgage Backed Securities, Mortgage Securities & Collateralized Debt Obligation Problems, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, UBS
Posted by Page PerryonJanuary 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 […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Citigroup Hedge Funds, 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, Smart Investing Tools, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonJanuary 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 […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Exchange Traded Products (ETPs), Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools
Posted by Page PerryonJanuary 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 […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Financial Industry Whistleblowers, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Regulatory Developments, SEC Whistleblowers, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonDecember 12, 2012
Massachusetts has filed fraud charges against two out-of-state companies, Prodigy Oil and Gas LLC and Synergy Oil LLC, in connection with their sale of unregistered securities to Massachusetts investors. Prodigy raised at least $464,000 from one Massachusetts investor and Synergy raised $35,000 from two investors, according to Commonwealth Secretary William Gavin’s complaint.
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Crowd Funding, Disciplinary Actions, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Private Investments/Reg D, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonDecember 7, 2012
At least a half a dozen independent broker-dealers sold variable annuities reportedly issued by Sun Life Financial, Inc. that lost substantial monies investing in hedge funds. The hedge funds, which used a combination of put and call options to bet that the S&P 500 stock index would not vary outside of a certain range, lost […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, FSC Securities, Hedge Funds, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Lincoln Financial, Misrepresentation/Omission, National Planning Group, Regulatory Developments, SagePoint Financial, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Unsuitable Recommendations, Variable Annuities and Equity-Indexed Annuities
Posted by Page PerryonDecember 3, 2012
Affinity fraud cases continue increase. Investors should be particularly careful when dealing with financial advisers with whom they share a common characteristic or interest. While that may sound counterintuitive, affinity fraud, which is based on such commonalities, has devastated many trusting investors. The affinity often involves something that has been an object of discrimination ? […]
Categories: A General Overview, Affinity Fraud, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Early Retirement Scams, Elder Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonNovember 30, 2012
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is considering a rule change that would require firms to disclose brokers’ recruitment compensation packages to transferring customers. Brokers who are recruited to change firms often receive financial incentives that may subtly encorage them to engage in unlawful sales practices, such as churning and unsuitable sales, in order to generate […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Churning, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Employment Issues, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Investor Rights, Misrepresentation/Omission, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonNovember 27, 2012
Bank of New York Mellon and the state of Virginia have agreed to resolve their dispute over BNY Mellon’s allegedly overcharging Virginia’s employee pension fund on currency transactions by means of hidden markups. The settlement calls for a $1.1 million payment to a whistleblower group (“Whistleblower to Get Big Payment in Bank of New York-Virginia […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Financial Industry Whistleblowers, Investment Advisers, Regulatory Developments, SEC Whistleblowers
