Posts belonging to Category Mutual Funds
Posted by J. Boyd PageonMarch 29, 2013
Rising interest rates may be death to traditional bonds and bond funds, but a number of alternative investment strategies allegedly designed to protect principal in a rising interest rate environment are springing up to take their place. It remains to be seen whether they will provide ballast when bond prices fall. For decades, bond investors […]
Categories: A General Overview, Alternative Funds, Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Closed End Funds, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Credit Default Swaps, Derivatives, Early Retirement Scams, 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, Limited Partnerships, Misrepresentation/Omission, Mutual Funds, Penny Stocks, Private Equity Investments, Private Investments/Reg D, Promissory Notes, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Structured Notes, Unsuitable Recommendations, Variable Annuities and Equity-Indexed Annuities
Posted by J. Boyd PageonMarch 26, 2013
A recent Wall Street Journal column advises money managers not to put more client money in municipal bonds. The column sets forth a number of risks and problems that it urged money managers to consider before placing clients’ money in these investments. First, municipal bonds’ tax-exempt status may be in political jeopardy (“Morning Call: Advisers […]
Categories: A General Overview, Bonds, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Early Retirement Scams, Elder Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Municipal Bonds, Mutual Funds, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by J. Boyd PageonMarch 14, 2013
OppenheimerFunds Inc. has agreed to pay more than $35,000,000 to settle SEC charges that it made misleading statements about two of its mutual funds during the credit crisis. The payments include a penalty of $24,000,000, disgorgement of $9,879,706, and prejudgment interest of $1,487,190. According to the SEC, Oppenheimer used total return swaps (a type of […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Elder Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Mutual Funds, Oppenheimer, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by J. Boyd PageonFebruary 26, 2013
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 […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Bonds, Brokerage Firms, Closed End Funds, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Derivatives, Early Retirement Scams, 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, Limited Partnerships, Misrepresentation/Omission, Mutual Funds, Nontraded REITs, Oil & Gas, Private Equity Investments, Private Investments/Reg D, Promissory Notes, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Structured Notes, Tenant-in-Common Interests, Unsuitable Recommendations, Variable Annuities and Equity-Indexed Annuities
Posted by J. Boyd PageonFebruary 20, 2013
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has finally joined the crowd in warning investors about the risks of bonds and bond funds in the current environment. If FINRA is worried about bonds, the end may be near. FINRA may be late in warning investors about bond and bond fund risks say financial advisers, but investors […]
Categories: Bonds, Brokerage Firms, Church Bonds, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Elder Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, High Yield (Junk) Bonds, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Mutual Funds, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonDecember 29, 2012
The lowest yields in 40 years and concern over their tax-exempt status sent municipal bonds into their worst monthly decline since 2010, according to InvestmentNews (“Munis take worst pounding since Meredith Whitney”). As of December 21, municipals were on track to lose 1.9 per cent of their market value for the month. Thanks to the […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Economy, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Market Developments, Municipal Bonds, Mutual Funds, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools
Posted by Page PerryonDecember 26, 2012
Municipal bonds may be sailing into the “perfect storm.” Municipal bonds and bond funds have declined rather sharply in recent days. While these investments have been considered very low risk in the past, a number of factors have combined increase their risk and to drive yields up and prices down. Those factors include a large […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Municipal Bonds, Mutual Funds, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonDecember 10, 2012
Many experts believe that fixed income has become a high-risk asset class, more so than at any time in recent years. Demand has pushed bond prices way up and yields way down. Bond sales for 2012 are expected to break the 2009 record of $1.024 trillion. Investors’ average allocation to fixed income is 26%, double […]
Categories: Bonds, Brokerage Firms, Church Bonds, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, High Yield (Junk) Bonds, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Market Developments, Misrepresentation/Omission, Mutual Funds, Promissory Notes, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Structured Notes, Unsuitable Recommendations
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 3, 2012
Too many investors speculate rather than invest according to John Bogle, the founder of the Vanguard Group and the creator of the Vanguard 500 Index Fund, which tracks the S&P 500 stock index. Investing means buying and holding; trading (frequent buying and selling) is speculation. Speculation is what happens when sales people act as financial […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Churning, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Early Retirement Scams, Elder Abuses, Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Mutual Funds, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Unsuitable Recommendations