Although you may not have heard of it, LPL Financial is a big brokerage firm with big problems. LPL is the nation’s fourth largest brokerage, after Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. According to a March 21, 2013 article in the New York Times, LPL is facing a flood of complaints from state regulators […]
Wells Fargo Broker and Poet Sanctioned for Defrauding Widow
Adorean Boleancu was a Wells Fargo Private Banker and Senior Vice President who the San Francisco Sentinel described in 2008 as the “Hottest Financial Advisor to the Swells.” One of his clients (but maybe not one of the “Swells”) was a woman the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) characterized as an elderly, inexperienced and unsophisticated […]
TICs That Bite Investors
Smiley Bishop & Porter is pursuing claims against stock brokerage firms that made unsuitable recommendations that their clients invest in tenancy in common (TIC) properties. A TIC is a form of property ownership in which several people individually own an undivided part of an entire income producing property like an office building, warehouse or retail […]
FINRA Head Explains Perils of Complex Investment Products
Richard G. Ketchum, Chairman and CEO of FINRA, appeared before the securities industry trade group SIFMA at its Complex Products Forum on September 27, 2012 in New York to admonish brokerage firms about the perils and obligations involved in marketing complex investment products to investors. According to Ketchum, while there is no legal definition of […]
What’s a UIT?
With apologies to “My Cousin Vinnie,” a UIT is a Unit Investment Trust. UITs are investment products that brokers love to sell and investors should avoid. UITs are portfolios of stocks, bonds, or mutual funds which are assembled by trustees and then sold in units consisting of a portion of all of the assets in […]
SBP Investigating Wells Non-Traded REITs
The law firm of Smiley Bishop & Porter LLP is investigating potential claims against Wells Investment Securities, Inc. (“Wells Securities” and “Wells”) concerning its sales of Wells Real Estate Funds. Wells Securities is a Norcross, Georgia based broker-dealer which makes most of its revenue from selling Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) and direct participation agreements. […]
FINRA Issues Warning About Structured Products, High Yield Bonds, and Floating-Rate Funds
The paltry returns from many traditional income investments like government bonds and CDs and the volatility of stocks have inspired brokers to push investments that promise high yields, but often carry hidden dangers. According to a recent release from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), these kind of investments include high-yield bonds, floating-rate loan funds […]
State of Georgia Investigating Sales of Reverse Convertible Notes
It has been reported that the Secretary of State of Georgia, who regulates stockbrokers, is investigating whether securities laws were violated by the sale of reverse convertible notes to Georgia investors. According to a July 21, 2011 report in Bloomberg, the Secretary has issued subpoenas to UBS AG, Morgan Stanley, and Ameriprise Financial Inc. in order […]
U.S. Supreme Court Decision Gives Arbitration a Big Boost
In AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion (April 27, 2011), the U.S. Supreme Court handed a big win to corporations that want to avoid facing class actions for consumer fraud. In a five to four decision, the Court reversed a Ninth Circuit ruling that invalidated a provision in AT&T’s cell phone contracts which required customers to […]
Fraudulent Stock Tips and The Japanese Disaster
It takes a cold, cold heart to exploit a natural disaster as a hook to defraud stock market investors. But according to a recent FINRA Alert, that is exactly what is happening in the wake of the Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. FINRA reports that “con-artists” are engaging in “pump-and-dump” schemes to inflate the […]
