In January, the Federal Reserve announced it will keep interest rates low until at least late 2014 in a continued effort to buttress the fledgling economic recovery. In what has become a market dominated by low interest rates, yields on Treasuries also […]

As the latest in a series of large fines levied against the nation’s few remaining wirehouse firms in early 2012, FINRA announced on Wednesday, January 25, that it fined Merill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith $1 million for refusing to arbitrate promissory […]

FINRA started the new year off by levying a $725,000.00 fine against Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., for failing to disclose potential conflicts of interest in certain research reports the firm published from January 2007 through March 2010. According to FINRA, Citigroup (a) […]

Investment Placement Group (IPG), an independent brokerage firm headquartered in downtown San Diego, agreed in late December to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approximately $4 million in penalties to settle charges that the firm failed to supervise Aurelio Rodriguez, one […]

We established this blog to share stories and information about topics relevant to our practice. Our intent is to highlight local stories, as well as national subject matter, that we think you will find interesting. We will regularly update this blog and encourage […]

The New York Court of Appeals handed a significant consumer victory to investors and current Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman in its December 20, 2011 ruling in Assured Guaranty (UK) Ltd., v. JP Morgan Investment Management, Inc. The Court’s decision decided the frequently […]

Bankruptcy Court judge in Manhattan, New York ruled today that James Giddens, the trustee appointed to liquidate MF Global Inc. following the firm’s October 2011 bankruptcy, may distribute an additional $2.2 billion to the firm’s former customers. While a small […]

It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book, and new clients routinely contact our firm after falling victim to it. A member of your community organization, a friend from work or perhaps even your child’s soccer coach recommends a new, “guaranteed” […]

On November 30, 2011, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a Regulatory Risk Alert outlining effective policies and procedures for broker-dealer branch inspections and broker supervision. The alert serves as a reminder of existing Securities Exchange Act and […]

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the self-regulated organization responsible for overseeing brokers and broker-dealers, has sanctioned eight firms and ten individuals for recommending private placement investments without a reasonable basis to customers. Among the firms sanctioned are: NEXT Financial Group; Investors […]

In a recent court decision, New York Federal Judge Jed Rakoff denied a motion to approve a settlement between Citigroup and the SEC arising out of charges that Citi misled investors about collateralized debt obligations. Judge Rakoff rejected the highly publicized […]

November 26, 2011. We see more and more private placements being sold to unsuspecting investors, most of whom have little or no idea of the risks inherent in these investments. With very few exceptions, a private placement is a high risk investment; typically highly illiquid […]

Registered representatives, investment advisers and others employed in the securities industry are required to disclose certain prior criminal convictions, including some “expunged” convictions, to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with their employment. […]

Obama signs new bill to quicken patent application process and curb frivolous patent lawsuits: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/16/us-patent-obama-idUSTRE78F4FY20110916?feedType=RSS&feedName=smallBusinessNews&rpc=43

November 15, 2011. Unsuitable investments continue to be sold to unsuspecting clients of major brokerage firms. On November 15, 2011 FINRA, ordered JP Morgan Chase to reimburse clients $1.9 million for losses those investors sustained when JP Morgan sold them high risk, unsuitable unit […]

Up-front, forgivable notes have been used by brokerage firms for many years as a way to entice high producing brokers to join- and, hopefully, remain- at the firm recruiting the talent. Virtually all firms use these notes as a recruiting […]

The SEC has subpoenaed various financial firms to investigate possible insider trading before US S&P credit rating downgrade” http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/20/news/economy/sec_sp_investigation/index.htm?iid=SF_BN_River

The price of gold bullion-which recently touched an all-time high-has sparked considerable interest in gold investing and, as with every “hot” investment, has spawned a myriad of aggressive advertising and marketing pitching gold as the “must have” investment. Gold, however,

“FINRA’s Chief is testifying before Congress today to make its case for regulation over investment advisers. FINRA currently regulates broker-dealers and now proposes advisers be added to its area of oversight.” http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/finra-makes-its-case-for-more-power/

FINRA-DR reports that new case filings for the first seven months of 2011 are down 12% and adds that customer-initiated filings have decreased, compared to the first seven months of 2010, by 18%. FINRA mediations through July 2011 have been