Articles Posted in News Releases

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…