Posts belonging to Category Structured Notes
Posted by Page PerryonMay 24, 2012
Broker-dealers’ conflicts of interest and the proliferation of complex financial products being sold by financial advisers are the top areas of concern to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), according InvestmentNews (“Ketchum: Finra’s focus on conflicts of interest compounding,” by Bruce Kelly).
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Derivatives, Elder Abuses, Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Hedge Funds, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Limited Partnerships, 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, Tenant-in-Common Interests, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonMay 23, 2012
The Securities and Exchange Commission has identified broker-dealer due diligence as an area of high risk. Before recommending any investment, a brokerage firm is required by law to have a reasonable basis for believing the investment is suitable for customers to whom the investment is recommended, and for understanding all the material facts (the pros […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, CDOs, Churning, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Derivatives, Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Hedge Funds, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Nontraded REITs, Private Investments/Reg D, Regulatory Developments, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Structured Notes, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonMay 18, 2012
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is showing stepped-up interest in the role of broker-dealers and individuals that act as wholesalers in the sale of private (Reg D) offerings that clients and often brokers do not fully understand. (See InvestmentNews article by Bruce Kelly entitled “Finra eyes wholesalers’ role in vending.”
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Derivatives, 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, Limited Partnerships, Misrepresentation/Omission, Mutual Funds, Nontraded REITs, Oil & Gas, Private Equity Investments, Private Investments/Reg D, Regulatory Developments, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Structured Notes, Tenant-in-Common Interests
Posted by Page PerryonMay 9, 2012
Wall Street is peddling snake oil ? new financial products that are the equivalent of bottles of medicine with labels like “Dr. Bartlett’s Beneficent Balm ? Boon to Mankind” ? and they should be regulated as such, according to University of Chicago professors Eric A. Posner and E. Glen Weyl. The FDA protects consumers from […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Asset Backed Securities, Brokerage Firms, CDOs, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Credit Default Swaps, Derivatives, Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Hedge Funds, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Investor Rights, Regulatory Developments, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Structured Notes
Posted by Page PerryonApril 30, 2012
With interest rates stuck at record lows, and retirees or those on the brink of retirement looking are for higher yields, Wall Street has capitalized on this dilemma by selling an array of alternative products like “structured notes” that promise higher yields but come with higher (often undisclosed) risks, and by marketing dividend stocks as […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Derivatives, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Private Investments/Reg D, Reverse Convertibles, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Structured Notes, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonApril 18, 2012
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is “asking” banks that issue structured notes to improve the accuracy of disclosures to investors, including comparing the sale price to the true (lower) value of the notes at the time of sale. “We believe issuers should consider prominently disclosing the difference between the public offering price of the […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Derivatives, Elder Abuses, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Nontraded REITs, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Structured Notes
Posted by Page PerryonApril 16, 2012
While the popularity of exchange traded notes (“ETNS”) has surged, ETNs can be extremely volatile, and investors run the risk of losing their entire investment. ETNs reportedly hold $17.4 billion in assets, up from under $5 billion five years ago.
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Credit Suisse, Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Structured Notes, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonMarch 27, 2012
The prospect of several more years of extremely low interest rates is causing people who depend on interest income to accept Wall Street’s recommendations to purchase relatively illiquid and opaque alternative investments like structured products, non-traded REITs, hedge funds and variable annuities. (“Itchy Investors Ramp Up the Risk,” Wall Street Journal). Regulators worry that the […]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Bonds, Brokerage Firms, Derivatives, Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Hedge Funds, High Yield (Junk) Bonds, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Limited Partnerships, Misrepresentation/Omission, Municipal Bonds, Mutual Funds, Nontraded REITs, Oil & Gas, Private Equity Investments, Private Investments/Reg D, REITs, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Structured Notes, Unsuitable Recommendations
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 16, 2012
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) reported that fines for false advertising have more than quadrupled from $4.75 million in 2010 to $21.1 million in 2011. FINRA found that a big part of that problem involved inaccurate or fraudulent internal communications. Firms were misleading their own brokers by telling them that structured products and other […]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Disciplinary Actions, Investment Malpractice, Misrepresentation/Omission, Private Equity Investments, Private Investments/Reg D, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Structured Notes
