Articles Posted in Investor Education

STMicroelectronics NV (STMicro), Europe’s largest computer chip maker, has sued Credit Suisse for “allegedly placing $450 million of its cash into auction-rate securities (ARS) without authorization.” STMicro believes that more than $2 billion of its money was invested in these ARS, without authorization. The complaint alleges that STMicro thought its cash was being invested in…

On January 15, 2013, The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation released their study on the 2012 Trends in Securities Class Actions. A few interesting facts were revealed. One fact found was that federal securities class actions continue to stay around the average, even with the credit crisis “all but ended.” The 2007-2011 average…

Atlanta’s Leo Wells, head of Wells Real Estate Funds, will not be “register[ing] any new investment products” for the time being. Leo Wells is one of the most well-known, outspoken, issuers of non-traded REITs. Thus, his timely “pause” from the industry is noteworthy. Leo Wells cites the lack of regulatory clarity, marketplace clarity, and uniform guidelines…

On December 26, 2012, FINRA ordered Pruco Securities, LLC to pay $10.7 million in restitution, plus interest, and a $550,000 fine for inaccurately pricing mutual funds. The firm was charged with having an inadequate supervisory system and procedures in place to detect the problem. According to the SEC website, Pruco’s retail brokerage business, COMMAND, mishandled mutual fund…

On December 27, 2012, FINRA fined Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley more than $4.48 million for “unfairly obtaining the reimbursement of fees they paid to the California Public Securities Association from proceeds of municipal and state bond offerings.” This was a violation of fair dealing and supervisory rules of the…

On October 18, 2012, FINRA censured and fined Memphis, Tennessee Morgan Keegan & Co. (CRD# 4161) $365,000 for its failure to “establish and maintain a supervisory system” to achieve compliance with NASD/FINRA rules in connection with the sale of non-rraditional ETFs. According to FINRA’s website, Morgan Keegan provided retail brokerage services and concurrently “failed to…

When investors consider purchasing municipal bonds, there are many areas to understand. The SEC has provided a checklist of areas to pay special attention to when making this type of investment decision. What Are Municipal Bonds? Municipal bonds are debt securities issued by states, cities, counties, or other government entities. They are used to finance and fund…

Senator Howard Stephenson, from Utah, is currently targeting publically available internet broker records. Senator Stephenson complains that the “long-reach” of internet search engines “unfairly” reveal and publicize past enforcement investigations regarding investment brokers. He believes that these publically available enforcement investigations are smearing brokers’ reputations. The Utah Securities Commission though has disregard Senator Stephenson’s complaint; when…

On December 19, 2012, Bishop Wiley Jackson, and his brother Rodney Jackson, with Gospel Tabernacle Church were indicted on eight (8) counts of criminal charges for running an investment scheme. The indictment charges the Jackson brothers with: The sale of unregistered securities (O.C.G.A 10-5-5(a)(1)(3)); The sale of securities by one who is not a registered salesman…

In the recent Massachusetts Securities Division suit against LPL Financial over non-traded REITs, Inland American Real Estate Trust was targeted. So who exactly is Inland American? In short, Inland American is the industry’s largest non-traded real estate investment trust. According to their website, Inland American Real Estate Trust, Inc. is a publicly traded Maryland corporation sponsored by their…