Smiley Bishop & Porter LLP

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The Three Most Common Wall Street Defenses

June 16, 2011 by jordan

There are between 3,000 and 9,000 arbitration claims filed with FINRA against brokerage firms every year. The most frequently filed complaints allege that a broker breached his/her fiduciary duty, made misrepresentations, or sold investments that were not suitable for the client’s needs or investment objectives. For every case that actually gets filed in arbitration there […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Auction Rate Securities, FINRA, Principal Protected Notes, SEC, Securities Arbitration Attorney, Securities Lawyers

Initial Impressions: What Do Financial Planning Designations Mean?

June 14, 2011 by jordan

If there is one thing that is not in short supply in the financial planning profession it’s initials. Professional designations in the financial planning business include CFPs, CFAs, ChFCs, RIAs, RRs, and CSAs to list only a few. To make things even more confusing, many people carry multiple designations. While no professional designation guarantees wisdom […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: FINRA, Investment Fraud Attorney, SEC, Securities Law Firm, Securities Lawyers

Investors Warned About Stock-Based Loan Programs

June 1, 2011 by jordan

Investors Warned About Stock-Based Loan Programs

FINRA has issued an Investor Alert to warn investors about stock-based loan programs. Brokers, financial planners, insurance agents and other advisors are pitching these programs as a way for clients to tap into the value of their stock holdings without having to sell their shares. The idea is that the broker will arrange for the […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: FINRA, Investment Fraud Attorney, Securities Law Firm, Stock Fraud Attorney

Nuveen Investments Fined $3 Million by FINRA

May 23, 2011 by jordan

FINRA announced it fined Nuveen Investments $3 million for misleading marketing materials used to push its auction-rate preferred securities. Nuveen did not directly sell the securities to its customers, but it did create marketing brochures used by the brokers who sold the ARPS to retail customers. According to the FINRA news release, “The brochures were […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Auction Rate Securities, FINRA, Investment Fraud Attorney, Securities Law Firm

If You Want More Fraud, Try Cutting The SEC’S Budget

May 5, 2011 by jordan

The SEC’s budget is the topic of hot debate, with SEC Chair Mary Schapiro begging Congress not to make further cuts to the agency that is charged with policing our securities laws. It is distressing to contemplate that this is even up for discussion at a time when investors are still climbing out of the […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Collateralized Debt Obligations, Investment Fraud Attorney, SEC, Securities Law Firm, Stock Fraud Attorney

An Overview of FINRA Arbitration

April 22, 2011 by jordan

An Overview of FINRA Arbitration

When clients open a brokerage account they usually sign a contract requiring them to resolve any disputes with the firm or their broker through arbitration rather than in court. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is normally the forum where these cases are heard. There are pros and cons to FINRA arbitration, but the basic […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: FINRA, FINRA Arbitration, Investment Fraud Attorney, Securities Arbitration Attorney

FINRA Arbitrators Order Citigroup To Pay $54 Million for MAT/ASTA Funds Claim

April 11, 2011 by jordan

A FINRA arbitration panel has ordered Citigroup Global Markets to pay a combined $54 million in awards to clients who were sold the MAT/ASTA funds (FINRA Arbitration 09-03297). The claimants, who were former clients of Citigroup, alleged that they were the victims of securities fraud, unsuitability, and a failure to supervise arising from multiple investments […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Citigroup, FINRA, FINRA Arbitration, Investment Fraud Attorney, MAT/ASTA, Securities Lawyers

FINRA Announces Sanctions of Two Firms and Seven Individuals for Selling Private Placements Without Conducting a Reasonable Investigation

April 7, 2011 by jordan

FINRA Announces Sanctions of Two Firms and Seven Individuals for Selling Private Placements Without Conducting a Reasonable Investigation

According to a FINRA News Release on April 7, 2011: WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced it has sanctioned two firms and seven individuals for selling interests in private placements without conducting a reasonable investigation. The companies whose securities were sold in these private placements were unrelated to the firms and individuals […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: FINRA, Medical Capital, Private Placements, Provident Royalties, Securities Lawyers

Wells Fargo Settles SEC Claims that Wachovia Sold CDOs to Indian Tribe at Inflated Prices in 2007

April 5, 2011 by jordan

The SEC announced on April 5, 2011 that Wells Fargo Securities agreed to a multi-million dollar settlement of charges that one of its units, Wachovia Capital Markets (which is now a part of Wells Fargo), committed securities fraud when it sold the Zuni Indian tribe complex securities known as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) which are […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Collateralized Debt Obligations, SEC, Securities Law Firm, Wachovia, Wells Fargo

Reverse Convertible Notes Sold By Brokers Under Regulatory Investigation

March 31, 2011 by jordan

According to Bloomberg, the SEC is investigating to see if investors were defrauded into buying complex bonds known as reverse convertible notes. Reverse convertibles are securities that promise to pay investors a comparatively high fixed rate of interest and repay the investor’s principal , unless a stock to which the product is linked falls below […]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Citigroup, FINRA, JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, Reverse Convertible Notes, SEC, Securities Fraud Lawyer, Wachovia

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The laws and rules that govern the securities industry in the United States derive from a simple and straightforward concept: all investors, whether large institutions or private individuals, should have access to certain basic facts about an investment prior to buying it, and so long as they hold it." —U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
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