Morgan Stanley is taking low grade collateralized debt obligations, repackaging these in into new pooled securities and obtaining questionable AAA ratings. The broker-dealer plans to sell $130 million CDO’s this way in a manner similar to the way banks have been dealing with commercial mortgage-backed securities. The repackaged CDO is…
The US Labor Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission want to know why target-date mutual funds, which were supposed to get safer as investors aged, have become more high risk. Large mutual fund firms, including Vanguard and Fidelity , promised that as investors approached their retirement target-date funds would…
According to Stifel Financial Corp., 95% of its clients with frozen auction-rate securities have indicated that they will accept its offer to buy back the investments over a three-year period. Missouri Securities Regulator and Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, however, continues to maintain that the buyback plan is inadequate. She…
FINRA is fining Wachovia Securities, LLC $1.4 million for its alleged failure to provide customers with product descriptions and prospectuses between July 2003 and December 2004, as well as for related supervisory failures. A probe conducted by the SRO determined that the broker-dealer did not provide the prospectuses to clients…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering whether to file civil charges against State Street Corp. over possible securities violations related to subprime mortgages. The Boston-based firm is the largest asset manager for institutions in the world. In its regulatory filing that it submitted on Monday, State Street noted that…
Evergreen Investment Management Co., which distributes Evergreen mutual funds and related entities, has settled Securities and Exchange Commission charges that the Ultra Short Opportunities Fund was overvalued and that the problem was only disclosed (in a selective manner) to certain shareholders. To settle the allegations, the distributor will pay over…
A former stockbroker that used to work for A.G. Edwards and Stifel Nicolaus has pleaded guilty to mail fraud. Neil R. Harrison, could spend up to 27 months behind bars-although his agreement to repay $85,739, cooperate with police, and lack of a criminal record could help him receive less than…
The Securities and Exchange Commission is suing Beverly Hills money manager Stanley Chais for securities fraud related to his alleged involvement in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scam. The SEC alleges that Chais and four others worked collectively to raise billions of dollars from investors to fund the $65 billion scheme-the…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says that RBC Capital Markets Corp., Raymond James & Associates, Inc., and an RBCCMC head trader have settled charges over alleged broker misconduct connected to stock loan improprieties. RJF is to pay a $1 million fine, while RBC Capital Markets will pay $400,000. Meantime, RBCCMC…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is accusing Park Financial Group Inc., JP Turner & Co., and Legent Clearing LLC of inadequate anti-money laundering procedures. The broker-dealers and four persons connected to them have consented to pay more than $1.25 million for failing to detect and report suspect penny-stock transactions. JP…
