The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) have announced a new group initiative to protect senior investors from becoming the victims of investment scams. SEC, NASAA, and FINRA will work with investment advisers and broker-dealer companies to…
The accounting firm of Doeren Mayhew & Company was named in a lawsuit filed in Oakland County, Michigan, in connection with a highly publicized multi-million dollar alleged ponzi scheme using partnerships, many purported to earn revenues from telephone usage in Las Vegas hotels. The central figure reported as the mastermind…
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that individual participants in 401(k) retirement plans can sue to recover their loses under the federal pension protection law. Over 50 million workers in the U.S. have a total of $2.7 trillion invested into 401(k) retirement plans which are governed by the…
Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America and California’s insurance department have reached a settlement agreement over allegations that Allianz engaged in inappropriate fixed annuity sales. Allianz Life will pay $10 million: $3.3 million to the California insurance department, $3 million to investments in the California Organized Investment Network, and…
This week, Goldman Sachs told a number of investors that they could not withdraw money from their auction-rate securities investments. This move by Goldman came as a shock to investors-but the firm was not alone. Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, and other banks have also found themselves notifying their investors that…
Goldman Sachs & Co. says it will settle a class action suit filed by the University of California (UC) over the purchase of Enron Corp. securities for $11.5 million. The University of California Board of Regents has approved the terms of the settlement. Goldman allegedly marketed Enron 7% exchangeable notes…
What was the role of the Securities and Exchange Commission in the collapse of the subprime mortgage bubble? Although mortgage brokers, investment banks, and ratings agencies are frequently held responsible for the demise, little is said about the roles of the Financial Industry Regulatory Industry (FINRA) and the SEC-both watchdog…
Banc One Securities Corp. (BOSC) says it will pay $225,000 to settle Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) charges that it made “unsuitable” sales of deferred variable annuities to 23 clients-21 of them elderly customers over 70 years of age. FINRA says that BOSC representatives told clients that they should exchange…
Heartland Advisors Inc. and several of the investment adviser’s employees have agreed to pay $3.9 Million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that they allegedly violated the Federal Securities Act. The SEC case stems from incidents that allegedly took place from March through October 2000, when Heartland “negligently mispriced…
Investors have a hard time understanding the differences between investment advisers and broker-dealers, as well as distinguishing between the different services and protections that each group offer. This finding was reported last month in an SEC-commissioned study conducted by Nonprofit policy group Rand Corp. Rand gathered its findings from data…