Articles Posted in Investor Education

On December 12, 2012 the Massachusetts Securities Division filed suit against LPL Financial, LLC regarding the sale of non-traded REITs. Massachusetts specifically targeted LPL’s sale of Inland American Real Estate Trust. According to the complaint, LPL received at least $1,403,477.40 in commissions from sales of Inland American’s non-traded REITs. According to a recent article in InvestmentNews entitled Galvin’s LPL…

Apparently since David Lerner began selling Apple REIT investments to moms and pops across the country ($6.8 billion), it has consistently listed the price per share of the various Apple REIT investments as $11. The accuracy of this $11 per share amount is undermined, however, by the fact that the values and profitability of the…

Last week, FINRA’s complaint filed against David Lerner & Associates triggered a storm of media attention scrutinizing the brokerage firm’s alleged sales practices violations related to its distribution of Apple REITs investments. The FINRA complaint also exposed that the $11 price per share of all Apple REITs offered are overvalued and that each REIT has…

If you are a David Lerner customer who is invested in Apple REITs and have read the newspapers this week, you have probably been searching for quality information to help you assess whether: (1) your REIT investments have lost money; (2) you are in danger of losing money and (3) there are any steps that…

The New York headquartered brokerage firm David Lerner & Associates has marketed Apple REIT’s to its customers as investments that provide safe income. Since 1992, David Lerner has sold more than $6 billion of Apple REITs into over a hundred thousand of its customer accounts. More specifically, since January 2011, David Lerner has sold over…

The Wall Street Journal reports that FINRA filed suit against David Lerner Associates, Inc. for allegedly failing to satisfy its due diligence and suitability obligations in connection with the sale of Apple REITs. Since 1992 David Lerner has sold more than $6 billion in Apple REITs to its investors. The FINRA complaint alleges that the Apple REITs…

Investment News reports that Richard Ketcham, FINRA’s chairman and chief executive last week warned an audience of more than 900 industry professionals at the regulator’s annual meeting in Washington that the regulator is focusing on broker-dealers that sell structured products such a reverse convertible notes. This news comes on the heels of our blog post last…

According to a Bloomberg News article today entitled, Massachusetts Investigates Sales of Reverse Convertible Notes, the state securities regulator appears to be positioning itself to potentially take action against the brokerage industry on its sales practices related reverse convertible notes. Reverse convertible notes are very complex structured investments that are rarely suitable for retail investors. To…

Today, FINRA announced that it is conducting a “sweep” to survey advertisements used by brokerage firms in connection with the sale of reverse convertible notes. Brokers are being required to turn over copies of all marketing materials used to sell the structured products between September 2010 and February 2011. Brokers have until April 1, 2011 to comply.…

The Doss Firm, LLC is pleased to announce that on March 18, 2011, the Atlanta Business Chronicle published an article co-authored by Jason Doss entitled Securities arbitration rules should be revised. The article discusses recent developments in legislation that may ultimately permit retail investors the opportunity to opt out of arbitration in disputes with financial advisors and…