The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), an organization comprised of State securities regulators, recently issued an Investor Alert regarding self-directed IRAs and the third-party custodians who service those accounts. In fact, the term “custodian” may be a misnomer, because generally the third-party custodian does not custody any property, and…
As oil prices have continued to plummet and commuters across the country have regaled the resulting savings at the pump, investors in oil and gas related stocks, ETFs and master limited partnerships have been shocked by the crushing losses on their brokerage account statements. With interest rates near all-time lows,…
“Is my stockbroker charging me too much in commissions and fees?” This is a common question many investors frequently have. Unfortunately, all too often, the answer to this question is “Yes.” In fact, just yesterday, the SEC announced that it had fined a New York based broker-dealer, Linkbrokers (an affiliate…
It’s Buyer Beware, according to guidance and alerts issued recently by the SEC, FINRA and IRS concerning risks inherent in Bitcoin. Bitcoin is described by all three offices as a decentralized, peer-to-peer virtual currency that can be used in place of, and traded for, traditional currencies, though is not backed…
Is your broker charging you a fair commission? Not surprisingly, many investors do not fully understand how much they are paying in fees and commissions to their broker-dealer, and disparities from firm to firm can be wide and difficult to decipher. A recent study conducted by the North American Securities…
Keith Edwards, a former J.P. Morgan employee is due to receive a nearly $64 million payment from the U.S. government for the tips he provided as a whistleblower. Mr. Edwards provided information that led to a payment by J.P. Morgan to the government in the amount of $614 million stemming…
Just yesterday, FINRA announced that it has fined Iowa-based broker-dealer Berthel Fisher $775,000 for failures to adequately train and supervise brokers selling alternative investments, such as real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), and non-traditional exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), including leveraged and inverse ETFs. In addition to REITs and ETFs, Berthel brokers…
Bitcoin, and the exchanges that provide a space for trading Bitcoin, have received a lot of press lately. The Wall Street Journal reported on February 11, 2014 that the price of a Bitcoin dropped to approximately $650. This would be a significant drop from a trading high of over $1,100…
Just this past week, two brokerages units of Stifel Financial were ordered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) to pay more than $1 million related to the sale of leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). Of the more than $1 million to be paid, $550,000 comes in the form…
As reported recently by the Wall Street Journal, investment in non-traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) is at an all-time high and poised to continue to rise. Some estimates anticipate more than $18 billion to be invested in non-traded REITs by the end of this year. Solicited with the prospect…