CNBC reports that according to a recent survey, advisors are preferencing exchange-traded funds over any other investment choice, in part because of their transparency, liquidity, and low costs. ETFs can also be traded throughout the day and are primarily passive. Their expense ratio is lower than actively managed mutual funds…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued an alert cautioning investors to double check the credentials of financial professionals before working with them. This week, the regulator’s Enforcement Division announced two securities fraud cases against investment advisers accused of making false claims about their background and experience. In one case,…
The SEC is charging Miami investment adviser Phil Donnahue Williamson with running a Ponzi scam and bilking at least seventeen investors. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida has filed a parallel criminal action against him. According to the SEC, Williamson raised over $2 million over the…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is filing insider trading charges against four persons accused of stealing confidential data from investment banks and public company clients so they could trade prior to secondary stock offerings. The four of them allegedly made over $4.4 million in illegal trading profits. Some 15 stocks…
The SEC said that Merrill Lynch (MER) would pay $11 million to resolve allegations of short-selling-related noncompliance. The regulator said that the wirehouse executed short sales in certain securities when the supply for this type of transaction was restricted. Customers frequently ask brokerage firms to “locate” stock that can be…
The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts has ordered Sage Advisory Group and principal Benjamin Lee Grant (“Lee Grant”) to pay over $1M for two SEC fraud cases. The ruling comes after a federal jury found both of them liable. In the first case, the regulator is…
According to Richard Breeden, the special master of the Madoff Victim Fund, about 11,000 more investors who sustained losses in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scam could recover some of their funds. He also said that the number could possibly double as the U.S. government assesses more of the claims. Breeden…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has sent its proposed rule change regarding BrokerCheck links to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Per the new measure, a broker-dealer would have to make sure that a BrokerCheck link is made accessible on its home page. The firm would also have to make…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division has filed fraud charges against William Quigley, the former compliance director of Trident Partners Ltd. According to the regulator, Quigley solicited investors to purchase stock in start-ups that were supposedly about to go public, as well as well-known companies, but never actually…
After pleading guilty to two criminal counts of selling unregistered securities, The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), the agency primarily charged with regulating the nation’s stockbrokers, finally barred former stockbroker, Jerry A. Cicolani, Jr. (“Cicolani”) from the securities industry. According to FINRA’s website, “FINRA has permanently barred [Cicolani] from acting…