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Our experts frequently write blog posts about the findings of the research we are conducting.

Displaying 51-60 out of 167 results for "Latest Non-Traded REIT Valuations: Not Good".

Repackaging Securities Means Repackaging Risks: the Case of STRATS 2005-2

(Sep 2012)

On July 12, an exotic structured security that was trading at approximately $25 per share was suddenly redeemed at $14.69 by its issuer, Wells Fargo Advisors. Needless to say, some investors were surprised by the event, which did not appear to be anticipated by the market. Indeed, the securities -- Floating Rate Structured Repackaged Asset-Backed Trust Securities Certificates, Series 2005-2 (abbreviated STRATS 2005-2) -- had embedded risks that resulted from repackaging the same underlying...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - September 21st, 2012

(Sep 2012)

SEC Charges Atlanta-Based Adviser with Operating Ponzi-Like Scheme Involving Private Investment Funds
September 19, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22485)
Earlier this week, the SEC filed a civil complaint charging Angelo A. Alleca with "defrauding investors in a purported "fund-of-funds" and then trying to hide trading losses by creating new private funds to make money to pay back the original fund investors in Ponzi-like fashion." Rather than investing investor funds in Summit Investment Fund,...

SEC Litigation Releases: Weekly Review

(Sep 2012)

SEC Charges a Solar Panel Manufacturer and Three of its Former Executives with Defrauding Investors
September 6, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22475)
The SEC charged Worldwide Energy and Manufacturing USA Inc. (WEMU), a San Francisco based solar panel manufacturer, and WEMU executives Jimmy Wang, Mindy Wang, and Jeffrey Watson with "concealing the transfer of nearly half of the ownership stake in its Chinese subsidiary to three individuals in China who manage the subsidiary." According to the ...

As New ETFs Come and Go, Big Ones Remain Big

(Sep 2012)

A recent Seeking Alpha article argues that with six new ETFs coming into the market and 18 being closed or redeemed, the past August signaled the beginning of a consolidation process in the ETF industry. There are good reasons to believe the author is right: with ETF issuers rolling out more and more ETFs each month, those having failed to catch investors' eyes quick enough are bound to disappear with the ever-intensifying competition. On the other hand, it also got us curious: what about...

ETFs: Easy Come, Easy Go

(Sep 2012)

Last month we pointed out a growing number of ETF closures across a variety of issuers. Hot on their heels, several issuers announced new ETF issuances offering a wide variety of strategies, including many actively managed ETFs, which seem to be all the rage these days.

UBS recently announced that it would redeem 12 of its 13 volatility-linked ETNs on September 12. These twelve funds are actually six pairs of 1x long and 1x inverse notes linked to the performance of VIX futures portfolios...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - September 7th, 2012

(Sep 2012)

SEC Files Settled Insider Trading Action Against Pharmaceutical Company Executive and His Father-In-Law
September 6, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22474)
On September 6, 2012, the SEC filed a civil injunctive action against APP Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s former Director of Contract Marketing, Arthur H. Reed, as well as Reed's father-in-law, Allan F. Derusha. According to the complaint (opens to PDF),the pair engaged in "insider trading and/or tipping in advance of APP's July 7, 2008 public...

Is FINRA Arbitration Constitutional?

(Sep 2012)

Since 1987, when the Supreme Court upheld the mandatory arbitration provision found in brokerage customer agreements (Shearson/American Express v. McMahon - 482 U.S. 220 (1987)), most disputes between broker-dealers and their customers or employees have been adjudicated through the FINRA Dispute Resolution process. Their proceedings are not open to the public, no public record is kept, and most decisions are not explained. FINRA arbitrators come from all walks of life, although many are...

SEC Litigation Releases: Week in Review - August 31st, 2012

(Aug 2012)

SEC Charges Brokers for Defrauding Brazilian Public Pension Funds in Markup Scheme
August 29, 2012, (Litigation Release No. 22462)
According to the complaint (opens to PDF), Fabrizio Neves conducted a markup scheme while working at LatAm Investments LLC. The complaint alleges that from 2006 to 2009 Neves, with the assistance of Jose Luna, overcharged customers around $36 million "by using hidden markup fees on structured note transactions." Neves allegedly made millions in inflated sales...

The JOBS Act and Private Placements [UPDATE]

(Aug 2012)

Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are reporting that the SEC has proposed removing the restriction on general solicitation of hedge funds and other private placement investments as required by the JOBS Act of 2012. Last week we blogged about the implications of this action, and at that time there was concern that the SEC would impose further restrictions that would dampen the effects of the law. It now appears that the SEC will not impose any additional regulations.

The...

ETFs in Mutual Funds: a Raw Deal?

(Aug 2012)

Ian Salisbury at SmartMoney raises an interesting point:

The whole point of actively run funds, their proponents say, is that a living, breathing fund manager has a better chance of sussing out great investment opportunities than an exchange-traded fund, which just blindly tracks an index. Indeed, that's one of the reasons actively managed funds have higher fees than ETFs -- to pay for all that expert guidance.
So it might come as a shock to some investors that the top holdings of several...

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