Articles Posted in Investor Education

The collapse in oil prices was a major shock that took a lot of people by surprise. For years the story line had been that the world was running out of oil and America was dependent on foreign oil produced by governments not friendly to U.S. interests. With dwindling supplies, the price of oil had…

Private placements are investments that have not been registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The lack of registration is either unlawful, or lawful due to an exemption from registration under the securities laws. Private placement investments are always high-risk investments that are complex, not transparent, and illiquid (cannot be readily sold) –…

Each year, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) publishes a letter to the financial services industry identifying its regulatory and examination priorities. FINRA is the industry’s “self-regulatory organization,” which is charged with policing sales practice violations by its member broker-dealer firms, among other things. According to FINRA, its letter highlights important risks and problem areas in the…

On April 22, 2013, George Canellos and Andrew Ceresney were named as SEC’s Division of Enforcement co-directors. Both have ties to SEC’s new chairman Mary Jo White. Canellos worked as an assistant attorney to Ms. White while she was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in the 1990s to early 2000s. Then…

On April 19, 2013, the FINRA Board of Governors approved several proposed rule changes that now will be submitted to the SEC for review and approval. Two that center on the FINRA arbitration process are detailed below: First, the Board authorized FINRA to file with the SEC proposed amendments to FINRA Rule 12403 which would simplify securities…

On April 19, 2013, Rep. Maxine Waters introduced legislation that would allow the SEC to charge user fees to investment advisors to fund their oversight. Ms. Waters said that the SEC needs a source of revenue dedicated to regulating advisors and the bill would authorize fees to fund investment advisor examinations. Under the bill, the user…

On April 18, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report that detailed its view that regulators need to do more to stop older Americans from being confused by “the scores of senior designations that financial advisors use.” The CFPB believes the SEC should consider setting up a centralized tool for investors to verify an…

On April 12, 2013, we posted a blog entitled FINRA Charges Discount Firm with Fraudulent Sales, which detailed FINRA’s complaint against Success Trade Securities Inc, an online discount firm, and its CEO, Fuad Ahmed alleging fraudulent sales of promissory notes. New details are emerging in this case. Yahoo! Sports reports that many of Success Trade Securities…

On April 12, 2013, we posted a blog entitled In Proposal, SEC’s Budget to Oversee Investment Advisors Increased, which detailed the recent federal budget proposal that would increase the SEC’s funding by $256 million to allow the SEC to hire hundreds of examiners to increase investment advisor oversight. On April 16, 2013, however, SEC member Elisse Walter…

On April 12, 2013, FINRA announced that has filed a complaint against Success Trade Securities Inc, an online discount firm, and its CEO, Fuad Ahmed. The complaint alleges that Success Trade Securities Inc. fraudulently sold more than $18 million in promissory notes to 58 investors, most of them former professional football and basketball players. The notes…