Category Archives: broker
The Basics of “Secured Notes”
Investors should always be skeptical about complicated-sounding investments that promise to minimize or eliminate risk. One such type of investment is known as a “structured note.” This describes any hybrid security that includes multiple financial products. Structured Notes Structured notes are linked to some other index or security. Here is a simple example of… Read More »
WSJ Warns Florida Seniors About Broker Free Lunch Seminars
The Wall Street Journal recently analyzed where most of nation’s estimated 630,000 stockbrokers work and found at least five “hot spots” in Florida alone. The Journal identified Palm Beach County as having “one of the highest rates of troubled brokers” in the country, largely due to the presence of a high number of persons… Read More »
FINRA Criticized for Being Lenient on Financial Brokers
On May 29, 2014, one of five Commissioners of the Securities and Exchange Commission gave a speech to FINRA’s Division of Market Regulation. While the SEC is the final government regulator of the country’s securities industry, FINRA—or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority—is a key player in U.S. markets. FINRA is not itself a government… Read More »
FINRA Alerts Investors to Ebola Stock Scammers
Media outlets throughout the world continue to report on the tragic Ebola outbreak still ravaging West Africa. As recently reported, over 1,200 people have been killed since the virus began rapidly spreading in December 2013—and almost twice that number have been sickened. The virus itself does not appear to be directly affecting the United… Read More »
Retirees Particularly Vulnerable in 401(k) Rollovers
America’s population of retirees is larger than ever. According to U.S. News and World Reports, in the decade between 2000 and 2010, the 65-and-over demographic jumped by over 15 percent—significantly greater than the 9.7 percent increase of the total population. Not surprisingly, Florida leads the nation in retirees, with 17.3 percent of its population… Read More »
Florida “Blue Sky” Laws
The federal government’s authority over the U.S. securities market is far reaching. The FBI and the Justice Department investigate allegations of fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission polices industry professionals and wrongdoing investors. Even FINRA’s oversight of brokers and brokerages has its roots in a federal law requiring its existence. Indeed, the federal securities… Read More »
Damages in Form U5 Defamation Cases
When a brokerage firm terminates a financial adviser, disclosure rules require the firm to file a Form U.5. This form typically includes, among other disclosures, the nature of the termination and the reasons behind it. And while termination of a broker may simply be the result of layoffs or other neutral reasons, Form U5s… Read More »
