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

Displaying 21-30 out of 156 results for "JOBS Act".

Nicholas Schorsch Cheated Investors in Recent Nontraded REIT Mergers

(Dec 2015)

Roll-ups

Recently we posted More Non-traded REIT Perfidy: The Roll-up Grift.

To re-cap: Non-traded REITs are required by state securities regulators to include language in their bylaws which closely tracks the 2007 North American Securities Administrators Association's Statement of Policy Regarding Real Estate Investment Trusts.¹

NASAA guidelines protect shareholders in REITs which have not been trading for at least 12 months before being rolled-up. The protections include the requirement...

More Impossible Trade Prices Caused by Auto-liquidators: Option Combinations

(Dec 2015)

In three previous blog posts, we documented how auto-liquidators execute option trades at distorted prices to their clients' detriment. The price distortions are caused by the price impact of large sell or buy orders on thinly traded securities. These distortions were reversed within minutes, but not before causing investors millions of dollars of unnecessary losses.

In "The Recent Market Turmoil Spells Trouble for Auto-liquidators like Interactive Brokers", we showed that thinly traded...

More Non-traded REIT Perfidy: The Roll-up Grift

(Nov 2015)

We have extensively researched non-traded REITs and concluded that these illiquid direct participation programs have cost investors $50 billion compared to more liquid investments in traded REITs. Our Fiduciary Duties and Non-traded REITs provides a good overview of the problems with non-traded REITs and a summary of our empirical results. An Empirical Analysis of Non-Traded REITs contains a more detailed explanation of our research. See our previous blog posts on individual non-traded...

Only a Faulty Auto-liquidator Pays More for An Option Than it Can Ever Be Worth

(Nov 2015)

In two previous blog posts we documented how auto-liquidators appear to have executed option trades at distorted prices to their clients' detriment on August 24, 2015. The price distortions were caused by massive sell or buy orders on thinly traded securities being dumped into the market by auto-liquidation programs. These distortions were reversed within minutes, but not before causing investors millions of dollars of unnecessary losses.

In "The Recent Market Turmoil Spells Trouble for...

UBS Puerto Rico Still Can't Shoot Straight

(Oct 2015)

We've written extensively about the investment carnage caused by UBS Puerto Rico's management and sales of closed end municipal bonds funds. A summary of our findings can be found here: UBS Puerto Rico's Bond Fund Debacle: What We Know So Far .

Others will have to decide whether UBS was just incompetent or also wolfishly indifferent to Puerto Rico investors but recent evidence demonstrates that UBS Asset Managers of Puerto Rico continues to be, at least, incompetent.

The fourteen closed end...

More Signs of Trouble for Auto Liquidators

(Oct 2015)

In "The Recent Market Turmoil Spells Trouble for Auto Liquidators Like Interactive Brokers" we wrote about how the market decline on August 24, 2015 revealed continuing problems at auto-liquidating brokerage firms that cater to active traders. These active traders' accounts typically are subject to "portfolio margin" requirements which we have written about at length. ¹

We showed that thinly traded long-dated, deep out-of-the money SPX put options were bought on August 24, 2015 at...

Pension Purchase Agreements; The worst "investment" in the world?

(Oct 2015)

In recent years, platforms for buying and selling pension benefit payments have been created and gained traction. Voyager Financial Group (VFG) operated one of the largest and most active exchanges for buying and selling pension payments. There is limited information available on the size of this market because these firms have operated under the radar of securities regulators.

In pension benefit agreements, a pensioner agrees to turn over a specific number of their future pension benefit...

The Recent Market Turmoil Spells Trouble for "Auto-liquidators" like Interactive Brokers

(Aug 2015)

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (IB) caters to active traders including those who trade futures and options. These active traders' accounts typically are subject to "portfolio margin" requirements which we have written about at length. ¹ IB requires its customers to agree to have IB auto-liquidate positions when accounts are in a margin deficit.

IB's auto-liquidation procedures were the focus of a FINRA arbitration earlier this year in which the Claimant, Glen Lyon Long-Term Options, LP,...

UBS of Puerto Rico Continues to Wreak Havoc on Clients

(Aug 2015)

In October 2014, UBS Puerto Rico settled with the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("OCFI") over UBS's lack of compliance and supervision as some brokers recommended some "mostly senior, low net worth investors with conservative investment profiles" use non-purpose loans to further concentrate their accounts in UBS PR closed-end bond funds. The UBS-OCFI settlement is available to view on our website.

As part of the settlement, UBS paid...

Why Citigroup Paid the SEC $180 Million Over MAT/ASTA

(Aug 2015)

I. Introduction

This week Citigroup paid $180 million to the SEC to settle allegations that Citigroup improperly sold high risk hedge funds known as MAT, ASTA and Falcon. The SEC Order is available to view online.

The SEC Order makes clear that Citigroup did not effectively monitor the portfolio manager or the sales force as it sold billions of dollars of high risk MAT ASTA funds with false and misleading sales presentations. In the end, Citigroup lost hundreds of wealthy clients and likely...

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