Blog

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

Displaying 10 out of 12 results for "Structured CDs Week".

This is why UBS paid the SEC $15 Million over Reverse Convertible Structured Products

(Sep 2016)

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced a $15 million settlement with UBS over structured products linked to high volatility stocks today. The SEC press release announcing the settlement and its Order Instituting Proceedings are available on the SEC website. This post explains the underlying notes and why UBS may have paid the SEC a substantial settlement over sales practices related to UBS's reverse convertible notes ("RCNs").

UBS sold thousands of structured notes to retail...

Sacha Baron Cohen and Nicholas Schorsch - Masters of the House!

(Aug 2016)

On Monday, Global Net Lease, Inc. (GNL) and American Realty Capital Global Trust II (ARC Global Trust II) announce a merger. Under the agreement, ARC Global Trust II shareholders will receive 2.27 shares of GNL for each share of ARC Global Trust II common stock they own, which implies $19.59 per each share of ARC Global Trust II share based on GNL's closing price as of August 5, 2016. See ARC Global Trust II's 8-K announcing the merger and merger agreement.

It's a sordid tale, worthy of a...

Another Bad Broker Falsifying his BrokerCheck

(Jul 2016)

Recently we posted about two brokers who had not disclosed that customer complaints had been adjudicated to arbitration awards in favor of the clients but rather continued to report them as pending up to 15 months after the arbitration award was rendered (Bad Brokers Falsify Their BrokerCheck Records and No One Notices) and showed that FINRA corrected these two brokers' BrokerCheck records (Bad Brokers' Incorrect Records Got Partially Corrected Last Week). Last week we identified a few more...

Things Go From Bad to Worse for BrokerCheck

(Jul 2016)

Last week we posted about two brokers who had not disclosed that customer complaints had been adjudicated to arbitration awards in favor of the clients but rather continued to report them as pending up to 15 months after the arbitration award was rendered. See Bad Brokers Falsify Their BrokerCheck Records and No One Notices. Two days ago we showed that FINRA corrected these two brokers' BrokerCheck records in Bad Brokers' Incorrect Records Got Partially Corrected Last Week. We'll let you...

Bad Brokers' Incorrect Records Got Partially Corrected Last Week

(Jul 2016)

We wrote that FINRA's BrokerCheck allowed brokers to report cases adversely resolved as "pending" last week, in Bad Brokers Falsify Their BrokerCheck Records and No One Notices.

We provided two examples. The first included a large award in FINRA's awards database that had not been correctly reported as adversely resolved on the broker's BrokerCheck but had been correctly reported on her employer's BrokerCheck. Our second example, was of two adversely resolved filings against another broker....

This is Why Merrill Lynch Paid the SEC and FINRA $15 million over Bank of America's VOL Index-linked Structured Products.

(Jun 2016)

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday announced a settlement with Merrill Lynch over structured products linked to Bank of America's proprietary investable volatility index based on VIX Future contracts ("VOL Index"). The SEC press release announcing the settlement and its Order Instituting Proceedings are available on the SEC website. The companion FINRA settlement press releaseand AWC are available on the FINRA website. Bank of America published its VOL Index in 2010 and shortly...

A Bad Broker Found His Firm; You Should Avoid Them Both

(Jun 2016)

In June 2016, a FINRA panel in Albuquerque, NM ordered Centaurus Financial, Inc. to pay the Claimant, a recent widow when the subject conduct began, $150,000 plus all hearing fees after reasoned findings that "the investments Hashemian recommended while at Centaurus were not suitable", that Centaurus was responsible for Hashemian's actions which "constituted fraudulent and negligently made misrepresentation and omitted material information in the sale of investments" and that "Centaurus...

Smaller Brokerage Firms Are Even Worse!

(May 2016)

Last week we posted Have 1.3% or 7.3% of Stock Brokers Engaged in Misconduct? explaining that the competing estimates of broker misconduct differ because of differences in their definition of misconduct and the sample of brokers studied.

Firms with 400 to 999 Brokers Are Much Worse Than Larger Firms.

In last week's post, we listed the 100 highest risk brokerage firms with 400 or more registered brokers sorted by the percentage of their brokers associated with Investor Harm Events as of...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - April 8th, 2016

(Apr 2016)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

SEC Charges Four in Fraudulent "Free Dinner" Scheme
April 4, 2016 (Litigation Release No. 63)
Joseph Andrew Paul, John D. Ellis, Jr., James S. Quay and Donald H. Ellison were charged for embezzling money from victims by soliciting a "free dinner" scheme, splitting the victims' money amongst themselves instead of on investments they proclaimed had high returns. Quay has previous convictions of fraud, and both Quay and Ellison have questionable registrations as...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - April 1st, 2016

(Apr 2016)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

Securities Professional Charged With Defrauding Institutional Investors
March 28, 2016 (Litigation Release No. 58)
The SEC has charged Andrew W.W. Caspersen for embezzling approximately $95 million from two institutions. Caspersen deceived and offered promissory notes issued by Irving Place II SPV LLC, a name deceptively similar to a legitimate private equity fund Irving Place Capital Partners III SPV that is in no way associated with Caspersen. The U.S. Attorney's...

12 Results

1
2
>