Articles Posted in News Releases

On February 11, 2013, the Insured Retirement Institute released the results of a study that compared the amount of retirement savings between married baby boomers and single baby boomers. The study found that married baby boomers are far better financially prepared for retirement. According to the study “more than 8 in 10 married baby boomers (81.9%) report having retirement…

In an Investor Alert released on February 14, 2013, FINRA warned investors that if interest rates rise as expected, bond holders will be “slammed” with long duration. It stated that “in the event of rising interest rates, outstanding bonds, particularly those with a low interest rate and high duration, may experience significant price drops.” Duration, in this context…

On February 14, 2013, at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, the new chairman Sen. Jon Tester pushed the SEC to focus on advancing the uniform fiduciary duty. Sen. Tester told SEC Chairman Walter that he “would encourage the commission to make this a priority because [he] think[s] there is an…

FINRA has started its process of examining alternative trading systems (ATS). ATS are systems that are set up to help match buyers and sellers of large quantities of stocks who want to trade anonymously. ATS operations are one of FINRA’s top priorities in 2013. FINRA will examine fifteen (15) of the systems initially. ATS included “crossing…

On February 8, 2013, the SEC announced charges that it brought against an individual living in Illinois and two companies behind a $150 million investment scheme that defrauded foreign investors seeking profitable returns and a legal path to U.S. residency through a federal visa program. The SEC alleged that Anshoo R. Sethi created two entities, A Chicago…

In July 2012, The Doss Firm, LLC filed a class-action lawsuit against SCANA Energy in the United States District Court of the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division. The complaint alleged that SCANA overcharged hundreds of thousands of Georgia customers for their natural gas usage in violation of Georgia’s Natural Gas Competition and Deregulation Act. Subsequent to…

On February 12, 2013, the Massachusetts Securities Commission sent a letter to the SEC that urged the agency to consider banning the use of pre-dispute arbitration agreements by registered investment advisors and their customers. The Massachusetts securities regulator is concerned with the use of these agreements and request that the SEC commence a study to determine if their use…

Historically, SEC officials that leave the agency go on to work at high paying private financial companies and law firms defending the interests of Wall Street. For example, from 2001 through 2010, 419 former SEC staff members filed 1,949 disclosure statements saying that they intended to represent a new employer or client before the SEC.…

On February 11, 2013, Kevin Patrick Loughery was charged with wire fraud. Loughery is the co-founder of Geometrix, an Atlanta start-up company. Loughery allegedly committed wire fraud and defrauded investors out of approximately $800,000.00. U.S. Attorney Sally Yates stated “instead of keeping his business investors’ funds secure in an escrow account, the defendant is charged with…

On February 5, 2013, we posted a blog entitled U.S. Justice Department Sues S&P Over Deceptive Mortgage Securities Ratings, which detailed the U.S. Justice Dept. $5 billion suit against S&P over its inaccurate ratings of mortgage securities. On February 11, 2013 DealBook published an article entitled S&P Lawsuit Draws New Line in the Sand which detailed three interesting aspects to…