Customer complaints and arbitration claims never are good news for financial advisors. But too often advisors go “from the frying pan to the fire” by agreeing to be represented by the legal counsel that their firm recommends or refers. Advisors are enticed by the word “free”, and they are lulled into a (false) sense of comfort and security knowing their lawyer is liked by his/her financial services firm, sounds smart and polite, is experienced, and reassuring that all will turn out okay.
Reverse convertible notes (“RCN”) are complex investment vehicles that have been sold as an alternative to stocks and bonds. Also known as “revertible notes” or “reverse exchangeable securities”, the investments are not suitable for most investors.
James Blake Daughtry, a former representative at Kestra Investment Services, has agreed to a bar from the securities industry. On March 5, 2020, Daughtry signed a letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (“AWC”), agreeing to be barred from associating with any FINRA member firm in any capacity for his failure to appear for an on-the-record interview (“OTR”) with FINRA.
The tide has gone out for many investments, revealing their issues, shortcomings and problems. Business development companies (“BDC”) are the latest investments to be exposed.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has barred Marcus Boggs. Boggs had previously been terminated from Merrill Lynch and barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).
As COVID-19 continues to spread, so does the fear and uncertainty surrounding it. This creates the perfect environment for cybercriminals intending to steal secure information from banks and their customers. Swindlers can gain access to this information using email attachments, embedded links, online ads or social engineering. Some of the links or attachments may state they are coming from a reliable source such as the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and John Hopkins University.
Investors undoubtedly have suffered losses during the most recent market downturn. Do these investors have recourse to recover those losses in securities arbitration? To answer that question, let’s explore three fertile areas of recovery.
The SEC charged three individuals who, during their course of their employment, falsified and withheld documents that were requested by staff of the SEC during an ongoing investigation.
The market correction last week caused target-date funds to drop, resulting in up to 10% negative returns. However, market commentators argue that performance is far better than what happened to target-date funds in 2008. Funds last week saw just a 30% decrease in negative returns compared to 2008.
