Smiley Bishop & Porter partner J. Michael Bishop has been elected president of the North Fulton Bar Association for 2012-2013. The NFBA consists of approximately 130 members who are primarily lawyers practicing or living north of the Chattahoochee River in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. Its membership also includes judges whose jurisdictions include North Fulton County. […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Three Most Common Wall Street Defenses
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 […]
Initial Impressions: What Do Financial Planning Designations Mean?
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 […]
An Outline of the FINRA Arbitration Process For Customer-Broker Disputes
I. General A. Nearly all brokerage firms require retail clients to sign an agreement to have all disputes between them decided in arbitration rather than court. B. About 25 years ago, in Shearson/Am. Express, Inc. v. McMahon, 402 U.S. 220 (1987), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the validity of arbitration clauses which require clients to […]
FINRA Arbitrators Order Citigroup To Pay $54 Million for MAT/ASTA Funds Claim
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 […]
Public Guard Changes at SICA
Brian Smiley’s appointment to SICA is discussed in a recent Securities Arbitration Commenter Alert. A “Securities Arbitration Alert” published on April 6, 2011 by the Securities Arbitration Commentator discussed Brian Smiley’s recent appointment to the Securities Industry Conference on Arbitration (SICA).
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 […]
Reverse Convertible Notes
Reverse convertible notes are short-term bonds peddled to investors by Wall Street firms. Throughout their term, they pay comparatively high interest rates, but whether they pay back the investor’s principal is the big question. The reason for that question is because a reverse convertible’s principal repayment is linked to the performance of a specific stock […]
