Posts belonging to Category Securities
Posted by Alan PerryonFebruary 5, 2013
Experts are seeing signs of bubbles in stocks, bonds and farmland. This froth is basically the result of the Federal Reserve’s policy of credit easing – implemented primarily by its purchase of Treasuries and mortgage securities, which lowers interest rates and drives investors into riskier assets. The Fed’s primary reason for doing this is to […]
Categories: Bonds, Brokerage Firms, Economy, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Market Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Stocks
Posted by Alan PerryonJanuary 21, 2013
Leo Wells, CEO of Wells Real Estate Funds, told broker-dealers that his firm will not register any new nontraded REITs pending new guidelines that are expected to be published by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). He indicated that his firm needs “clarity” before marketing any new products (“All’s not well as Wells halts REIT […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Elder Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Nontraded REITs, REITs, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonJanuary 8, 2013
Wall Street’s recent promotion of alternative investments should warrant serious concern among investors. It serves as an unpleasant example of history repeating itself. In the mid-1980s, Wall Street firms became enamored with limited partnerships (a form of alternative investment) that invested in so-called hard assets, paid the firms high commissions and fees, were illiquid and […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Ameriprise, Asset Backed Securities, Bank of America, Brokerage Firms, Citigroup Hedge Funds, Closed End Funds, Common Securities Broker 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, LPL Financial, Merrill Lynch, Misrepresentation/Omission, Non-Traded Business Development Companies, Nontraded REITs, Oil & Gas, Peer to Peer Loans, Private Equity Investments, Private Investments/Reg D, Promissory Notes, REITs, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Unsuitable Recommendations, Variable Annuities and Equity-Indexed Annuities
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 4, 2013
The sense that the stock market is rigged became the majority view of disgusted investors in 2012, according to a Yahoo Finance article, “In 2012, Many Felt the Market Was Rigged.” This view is attributable to many factors, including the complexity and lack of transparency of multiple exchanges and alternative networks and the degree to […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Economy, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Market Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
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 PerryonJanuary 2, 2013
The financial press is increasingly critical of an investment product it glamorized in the past ? hedge funds. As a group they have underperformed unmanaged stock and balanced fund indices for the last 10 years while enriching fund managers. Yet more hedge funds continue to come on line. The question is why do they continue […]
Categories: Alternative Funds, Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Citigroup Hedge Funds, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Hedge Funds, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Market Developments, Misrepresentation/Omission, 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 27, 2012
Hedge funds have long been a quagmire for investors according to informed observers. Nevertheless, they somehow attract money with the lure of spectacular returns despite actual poor performance. Hedge funds traverse high-risk and often exotic territories and cannot be readily liquidated. More often than not, they are doomed from the outset by very high management […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Citigroup Hedge Funds, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Elder Abuses, Exchange Traded Products (ETPs), Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Hedge Funds, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Limited Partnerships, Misrepresentation/Omission, Nontraded REITs, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Unsuitable Recommendations
