Posts belonging to Category Life Policies/Viatical Settlements
Posted by J. Boyd PageonMarch 4, 2013
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. […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Bonds, Brokerage Firms, Church Bonds, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Early Retirement Scams, Elder Abuses, Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), Exchange Traded Products (ETPs), Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, High Yield (Junk) Bonds, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Life Policies/Viatical Settlements, Limited Partnerships, Misrepresentation/Omission, Nontraded REITs, Oil & Gas, Private Investments/Reg D, Promissory Notes, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Structured Notes, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by J. Boyd PageonFebruary 20, 2013
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 […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, CDOs, Closed End Funds, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Crowd Funding, Derivatives, Elder Abuses, Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), Exchange Traded Products (ETPs), 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, Nontraded REITs, Oil & Gas, Private Equity Investments, Private Investments/Reg D, Promissory Notes, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Structured Notes, Supervisory Failures, Unsuitable Recommendations, Variable Annuities and Equity-Indexed Annuities
Posted by J. Boyd PageonFebruary 18, 2013
LPL Financial, the country’s largest independent broker-dealer, is encountering serious problems involving its sales of alternative investments. LPL is also (not coincidentally) one of the country’s largest sellers of alternative investment products. In 2011, LPL sold $758,435,677 of variable annuities (which are considered by most industry observers as being alternative investments) and $110,643,148 of other […]
Categories: Alternative Funds, Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Closed End Funds, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Crowd Funding, Derivatives, Disciplinary Actions, Elder Abuses, Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), Exchange Traded Products (ETPs), 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, LPL Financial, Misrepresentation/Omission, Nontraded REITs, Oil & Gas, Private Equity Investments, Private Investments/Reg D, Regulatory Developments, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Structured Notes, Supervisory Failures, Tenant-in-Common Interests, Unsuitable Recommendations, Variable Annuities and Equity-Indexed Annuities
Posted by J. Boyd PageonFebruary 13, 2013
Investment scams targeting senior citizens continue to proliferate in Georgia and across the country. In fact, the Atlanta Journal Constitution recently published an article dealing with financial fraud perpetrated against seniors. The article (“Financial fraud scams target Georgia seniors”) focused on an 81 year-old lady who was the victim of a ponzi scheme. A ponzi […]
Categories: Affinity Fraud, Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Early Retirement Scams, Economy, Elder Abuses, Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), Exchange Traded Products (ETPs), 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, Misrepresentation/Omission, Nontraded REITs, Private Investments/Reg D, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Structured Notes, Unsuitable Recommendations, Variable Annuities and Equity-Indexed Annuities
Posted by Page PerryonJune 9, 2012
Financial advisers need to know that dangers lurk in the complex world of alternative investments and they must disclose these dangers to their clients. At present, many investment advisers are under pressure to sell alternative investments and are doing so in greater numbers than ever before. Alternative investments can include virtually any investment that is […]
Categories: Alternative Funds, Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Closed End Funds, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Credit Default Swaps, Derivatives, Elder Abuses, Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), 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, Misrepresentation/Omission, Non-Traded Business Development Companies, Nontraded REITs, Oil & Gas, Options, Private Equity Investments, Private Investments/Reg D, 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 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 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 PerryonNovember 7, 2011
As recently reported by InvestmentNews, The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc. (“NASAA”) jointly issued an investor alert warning about risks associated with self-directed IRAs. These IRAs differ from traditional IRAs in that they allow owners to invest their retirement savings in a number of unusual and sometimes […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Early Retirement Scams, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Hedge Funds, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Life Policies/Viatical Settlements, Nontraded REITs, Private Investments/Reg D, Regulatory Developments, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Structured Notes
Posted by Page PerryonOctober 21, 2011
Many investors in alternative investments are in for unpleasant surprises. Alternative investments are very popular these days, as traditional stock and bond investments are not doing well. Alternative Investments include a wide variety of investments that fall outside the traditional stock and bond categories. Examples include structured products (such as principal protected notes and reverse […]
Categories: Alternative Funds, Alternative Investments, Asset Backed Securities, Brokerage Firms, CDOs, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Derivatives, Elder Abuses, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Hedge Funds, High Yield (Junk) Bonds, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Life Policies/Viatical Settlements, Nontraded REITs, Peer to Peer Loans, Preferred Stocks, REITs, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Structured Notes, Tenant-in-Common Interests
Posted by Page PerryonOctober 5, 2011
Brokers often pitch alternative investments when the stock market is declining and returns on traditionally safe investments are too low. A few alternative investments may have some merit. Many more are flawed, bad and ugly in that they provide investors little more than uncompensated high risk. Then there are those that cross the line into […]
Categories: A General Overview, Alternative Investments, Bonds, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Life Policies/Viatical Settlements, Misrepresentation/Omission, Peer to Peer Loans, Ponzi Schemes, Private Investments/Reg D, Promissory Notes, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools