The SEC gave notice of intent to issue an order that would increase the minimum assets under management or net worth that a client must have before an investment adviser may charge performance-based fees.
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Bill Foster of Illinois introduced the Investor Choice Act earlier this month. The bill would prohibit broker dealers and investment advisors from forcing investors to agree to mandatory arbitration.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission accused a Washington rancher, Cody Easterday and Easterday Ranches, Inc., of defrauding beef and pork producers by billing for cattle that never existed.
Many investors are surprised to learn that an advisory or account agreement limits or bars the investor from bringing a claim in court.
In Regulatory Notice 21-09, FINRA announced the adoption of new supervision and disclosure rules for brokers with a significant history of misconduct and the firms that employ them.
Bloomberg reported about a wealthy 93 year old who brought constructive fraud, abuse of fiduciary duty, and other claims before FINRA against J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC and previously registered brokers and investment advisers.
Special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”), sometimes referred to as blank-check companies, have captured headlines and the attention of individual investors in recent months.
Popular online stock trading platform Robinhood announced on January 28, 2021, “In light of recent volatility, we are restricting transactions for certain securities to position closing only, including $AAL, $AMC, $BB, $BBBY, $CTRM, $EXPR, $GME, $KOSS, $NAKD, $NOK, $SNDL, $TR, and $TRVG. We also raised margin requirements for certain securities.”
The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) and its Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) announced that TK Keen, who has been serving as the acting administrator of DFR, has been officially appointed administrator of the division.
Investors are borrowing against their portfolios at record levels, according to FINRA data about debit balances in margin accounts. As of November 2020, investors borrowed more than $722 billion against the value of their accounts.
BlueCrest Capital Management Limited, a United Kingdom-based investment adviser, agreed last week to pay $170 million to settle charges brought by the SEC in connection with BlueCrest’s trading.
The North American Securities Administrators Association, an organization made up of state and provincial securities regulators in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, with a mission that includes protecting investors, announced a model rule for NASAA members to implement continuing education requirements for investment adviser representatives.
The SEC recently issued a public statement regarding certain leveraged and complex exchange traded products. The public statement begins by emphasizing that advisers and broker-dealers must actually understand the products they
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California announced the arrest and indictment of Matthew Piercey in connection with a fraud and Ponzi investment scheme involving Family Wealth Legacy and Zolla.
The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (“DCBS”), Finance and Securities Regulation recently gave notice of a proposed rulemaking to amend the rule regarding the use of special designations, professional certifications, or titles by securities professionals.
In an October 29, 2020, regulatory notice, FINRA announced the adoption of a new rule that creates new requirements before any person associated with a firm regulated by FINRA obtains power of attorney or is named a beneficiary, executor, or trustee for or on behalf of a customer.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the SEC is not moving forward on a measure to require broker dealers and investment advisers to vet individual investors before permitting them to trade leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds.
Metals.com and its parent company, TMTE, Inc., along with Chase Metals, LLC, Chase Metals, Inc., Barrick Capital, Inc., and its principals Lucas Asher (aka Lucas Thomas Erb, aka Luke Asher) and Simon Batashvili are alleged to have run a nationwide fraud that brought in more than $185 million in money from customers to buy fraudulently overpriced gold and silver bullion.
Mistakes made by even well-intentioned financial advisers, stock brokers, promoters, solicitors, and others who give investment advice or sell financial products sometimes come to light when markets are volatile or when a bull market ends.
Investors have access to free electronic search tools through self-regulatory organizations, federal, and state regulators to research investment firms and professionals. This post describes several free tools that give access to information beyond what you can learn using Google and other search engines.
