Posts belonging to Category Derivatives
Posted by Page PerryonMarch 26, 2012
Credit Suisse’s VIX (volatility)-linked exchange traded note? named “VelocityShares Daily 2X VIX Short-Term ETN” ? plummeted 30 percent on March 23 after Credit Suisse announced it would resume issuing new shares. “This is a wake-up call,” a Morningstar analyst was quoted as saying, adding: “People don’t take seriously the options that issuers have” that can […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Credit Suisse, Derivatives, Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Rights, Misrepresentation/Omission, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Structured Notes, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonMarch 8, 2012
Could Wall Street’s role in creating the recent financial crisis boil down to something as simple as a conditioned reflex? Apparently so, according to William D. Cohan, a former investment banker. Cohen writes: Wall Street “rewards bankers and traders for the revenue they generate by constantly selling whatever comes across their desks, regardless of its […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, CDOs, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Derivatives, Financial Industry Whistleblowers, Hedge Funds, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Limited Partnerships, Mortgage Securities & Collateralized Debt Obligation Problems, Nontraded REITs, Oil & Gas, Private Equity Investments, Private Investments/Reg D, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Structured Notes, Variable Annuities and Equity-Indexed Annuities
Posted by Page PerryonFebruary 22, 2012
Former investment banker and financial writer William Cohan has written a blistering critique of the SEC’s settlement with former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, essentially accusing the SEC of abject surrender to the forces of evil and begging the judge to reject the settlement: “We are all worse off for […]
Categories: Asset Backed Securities, Bear Stearns, Bear Stearns Hedge Funds, Brokerage Firms, CDOs, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Derivatives, Hedge Funds, Investment Advisers, Mortgage Backed Securities, Mortgage Securities & Collateralized Debt Obligation Problems, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonFebruary 6, 2012
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has issued a Regulatory Notice (12-03, Jan. 2012) to “remind” its member firms of their sales practice obligations with regard to complex products, and to provide them “guidance” in exercising heightened scrutiny and supervision over marketing and sales of complex products. Complex products are not defined in the Notice, but […]
Categories: A General Overview, Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Derivatives, Early Retirement Scams, Elder Abuses, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Hedge Funds, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Limited Partnerships, Misrepresentation/Omission, Mortgage Backed Securities, Nontraded REITs, REITs, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Stockbroker Standards of Conduct, Structured Notes, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonFebruary 2, 2012
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently issued a report outlining is its regulatory and examination priorities for 2012. The securities industry regulator is focusing on conduct and products meant to beat the market that are unsuitable investments for many investors.
Categories: Affinity Fraud, Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, CDOs, Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Derivatives, Elder Abuses, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Insurance Products, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Life Policies/Viatical Settlements, Misrepresentation/Omission, Mortgage Backed Securities, Mortgage Securities & Collateralized Debt Obligation Problems, Municipal Bonds, Nontraded REITs, Private Investments/Reg D, Regulatory Developments, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Structured Notes, Unsuitable Recommendations, Variable Annuities and Equity-Indexed Annuities
Posted by Page PerryonFebruary 1, 2012
Federal prosecutors plan to file criminal actions against four former traders who allegedly overvalued collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) sold by Credit Suisse in order to increase their commissions. The events occurred in 2008 and resulted in a $2.85 billion write down by Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse fired the traders and cooperated with authorities in their […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, CDOs, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Credit Suisse, Derivatives, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Mortgage Backed Securities, Mortgage Securities & Collateralized Debt Obligation Problems, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonJanuary 30, 2012
Given the array of exotic alternative investments being sold to the public, it’s logical that many investors often don’t understand what they are buying. What is even scarier is that it is likely their professional investment adviser doesn’t understand the alternative investment either. Investment advisers ? 75 percent of them ? admit they do not […]
Categories: Alternative Funds, Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, CDOs, Closed End Funds, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Derivatives, Early Retirement Scams, Elder Abuses, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Hedge Funds, High Yield (Junk) Bonds, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Life Policies/Viatical Settlements, Limited Partnerships, Misrepresentation/Omission, Mortgage Backed Securities, Nontraded REITs, Oil & Gas, Preferred Stocks, Private Investments/Reg D, REITs, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Structured Notes, Tenant-in-Common Interests, Unsuitable Recommendations, Variable Annuities and Equity-Indexed Annuities
Posted by Page PerryonJanuary 18, 2012
Unsophisticated state and local government officials have been sold billions of dollars of flawed financial products by Wall Street banks, leaving taxpayers on the hook for even more. The banks advised the governments to issue auction rate bonds to lower their financing costs and purchase interest rate swaps to protect the governments if the market […]
Categories: Auction Rate Securities, Bank of America, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Derivatives, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Merrill Lynch, Misrepresentation/Omission, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonJanuary 5, 2012
It is a basic principle of Good Government 101 that when a government issues a contract, it should be subject to competitive bidding rather than being doled out to a crony of some bureaucrat. Yet eighty percent of bond underwriting contracts that are issued by state and local governments to Wall Street banks are not […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Derivatives, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Municipal Bonds, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonDecember 20, 2011
It’s getting crazy out there in ETF land. Leveraged exchange traded funds like Direxion Funds that deliver two times the return of a benchmark are being jacked up to three times the return. Many market observers believe that the highly leveraged exchange traded funds are contributing to the market volatility that is causing investors to […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Derivatives, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools
