Deutsche Bank May Have Rigged Index in Paschi Deal, Audit Shows
By: Elisa Martinuzzi, Verson Silver, Donal Griffin, Bloomberg Quint (Dec 2016)
Bloomberg's "Deutsche Bank May Have Rigged Index in Paschi Deal, Audit Shows" reports on a Deutsche Bank internal audit report showing banker abuse of benchmarks, amid accusations of a widespread effort to rig rates for financial gain. The article quotes Craig McCann on the complexity and lack of transparency of these types of products to investors.
Fears grow over Wall St's appetite for securities-based lending
By: Ben McClannahan, The Financial Times (Jul 2016)
The Financial Times continues to cover the substantial increase in securities-based lending to customers of broker-dealers. Lending has become the primary focus of sales and marketing efforts at retail wirehouses like Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS. Paul Meyer, who has written extensively on the investor protection risks posed by these loans, is quoted today by the Financial Times cautioning about the risks associated SBLs.
Spy Novelist Who Claimed Deception by Morgan Stanley Wins $3.6 Million
By: Mason Braswell, AdvisorHub (Jun 2016)
Mason Braswell's "Spy Novelist Who Claimed Deception by Morgan Stanley Wins $3.6 Million" reports on the financial harm an investor incurred when his broker overstated the value of his investments over a three-year period. Dr. O'Neal testified on liability and damages for the Claimant.
Commissions exposed, adviser stops selling nontraded REITs
By: Ann Marsh, FinancialPlanning.com (Jun 2016)
Ann Marsh's "Commissions exposed, adviser stops selling nontraded REITs" in FinancialPlanning.com discusses SLCG's non-traded REIT research. The article illustrates how disclosing commissions and their impact on the purchase date value of a nontraded REITs helps disinfect this odious business.
Is Your Broker Good or Bad?
By: Jason Zweig, The Wall Street Journal (Apr 2016)
Jason Zweig's "The Intelligent Investor: Is Your Broker Good or Bad?" in this weekend's Wall Street Journal reports on recent published literature on broker misconduct. His article cites SLCG's recently completed analysis of 1.2 million BrokerCheck records. Craig McCann, Mike Yan and Chuan Qin are the principal authors of the study. Their findings are reported in "How Widespread and Predictable is Stock Broker Misconduct?"
The Oil Rout's Surprise Victims
By: Jason Zweig, The Wall Street Journal (Feb 2016)
Jason Zweig's "The Intelligent Investor: "The Oil Rout's Surprise Victims" in this weekend's Wall Street Journal discusses the losses caused by falling oil prices through retail structured products linked to crude oil prices, and to indexes and ETFs of oil and gas producing companies. The article quotes Craig McCann on the complexity of these products and their use as a focused bet rather than as part of a diversified investment strategy.
