On November 15, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced its decision to order Chase Investment Services Corporation to pay more than $1.9 million to customers who incurred losses because of Chase’s recommendation of unsuitable sales of UITs, or unit investment trusts, as well as floating-rate loan funds. In addition,…
LaeRoc Funds, a real estate investment firm that, according to its website, has managed assets totaling more than $650 million over the last 23 years, is currently attempting to raise another $12 million to $15 million to pay off debt for its LaeRoc 2005-2006 Income Fund. The fund’s debt totals…
According to a recent press release from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, together were fined $1 million in securities arbitration. Furthermore, Morgan Stanley was ordered to pay $371,000 in restitution and interest. The restitution and interest will go…
TICs, or tenancies-in-common, are complicated deals which allow real estate sellers to avoid capital gains tax by rolling their proceeds into other properties. TICs are also known as 1031 exchanges and, according to Jason Zweig, author of “In Real Estate, Simple Wins,” in a recent article in The Wall Street…
On October 21, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced its decision to fine UBS Securities $12 million in securities arbitration. The fine is for charges of Regulation SHO violation and failure to supervise. UBS Securities did not properly supervise short sales and the result was millions of mismarked short…
According to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, FINRA cannot enforce disciplinary actions by taking its members to court. The court’s decision comes after a long legal battle against Fiero Brothers, a penny stock brokerage firm, and John J. Fiero, the firm’s owner. In…
Both Lehman Brothers and UBS have had more than their fair share of bad press over the last three years, but are they cut from the same cloth? A recent article in Forbes makes the argument that they are. September marked the three-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy and the…
On October 4, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) — the agency which handles securities arbitration — released a new Investor Alert titled “Public Non-traded REITs — Perform a Careful Review Before Investing.” The purpose of this alert is to aid investors in understanding the risks, benefits, fees and features…
In a press release issued on September 29, 2011, the Financial Industry Regulation Authority (FINRA) announced its securities arbitration ruling against Raymond James Financial Services Inc. (RJFS) and Raymond James & Associates Inc. (RJA). The firms were charged with “unfair and unreasonable commissions on securities transactions.” RJFS and RJA were…
Kenneth Marsh was sentenced September 20 to 8 years in prison for his role in a “boiler-room” fraud. Marsh was the last of eighteen defendants to receive sentencing for a phony stock-tip scheme that resulted in the theft of $20 million from more than 5,000 investors. Between 2005 and 2010,…