The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has announced that Merrill Lynch has been fined $1.9 million and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $540,000 for fair pricing violations as well as supervisory violations related to the purchase of certain distressed securities. According to FINRA, more than 700 transactions…
Citigroup, Inc. has reportedly agreed to pay a $3 million fine for failing to properly deliver prospectuses to some customers. Specifically, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Citigroup failed to deliver prospectuses to customers who bought shares in one or more of 160 exchange traded funds (ETFs) in…
On November 12, 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported the results of an investigation performed of broker records. The article disclosed that the paper identified 16 “hot spots” where “troubled brokers tend to concentrate,” after analyzing about 550,000 records of brokers. The list of these 16 hot spots include: Fort…
“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…
Apparently the opportunity for bad brokers to engage in wrongful conduct is enabled by big brokerage firms, as recent Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fines indicate that these businesses fail to properly supervise their foot soldiers. The FINRA Rules, including Rule 3010, make clear that broker-dealers are the securities gatekeepers,…
When are money management fees too much? It is hard to imagine that any investor who has sought the guidance of professional financial advisors has not asked himself or herself this question at least once – most likely more. In the case of managed futures, the CFTC is asking that…
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…
Money makes the world go ’round and apparently also makes Credit Suisse employees work faster or slower, as the case may be. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday February 21, 2014 that Credit Suisse Group AG (Credit Suisse) agreed to pay $196 million to settle charges brought by the…