Investor Lawyers Blog

AARP Financial Inc. Survey Says Investors Find Financial Lingo “Technical and Confusing”

Published on: April 28, 2008 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

An AARP Financial Inc. survey says that many U.S. investors make investment errors and miss out on opportunities to invest because they find financial jargon confusing, technical, and hard to understand. GfK Custom Research North America of New York interviewed 1,203 adults by phone for the survey.

Findings included:

*Over 52% of respondents said they made an investment mistake because they did not understand or were confused about the investment.

NASAA Says State Regulators Continue To Investigating Auction-Rate Securities Problems Affecting Investors

Published on: April 24, 2008 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The North American Securities Administrators Association announced that a number of its members are continuing to probe complaints about auction-rate securities (ARS). They are also coordinating efforts to help investors whose money was placed by brokers in these complex investment products get access to their funds.

An ARS Task Force, comprised of state securities regulators from Massachusetts, Illinois, Florida, Missouri, Georgia, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Texas, and Washington all working in their individual jurisdictions, is investigating these ARS-related complaints.

NASAA President Karen Tyler, also North Dakota’s securities commissioner, says that regulators will seek the proper remedies to any violation. Tyler says that task force members are focused on determining whether any broker violations, including omission and misrepresentation, took place during the point of sale. She also stressed the securities regulators’ commitment to making sure that investors can access their funds.

U.S. Representative Barney Frank Calls on SEC to Widen Investigation of Improper Trading Rumors Surrounding Bear Stearns’s Stock

Published on: April 21, 2008 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

U.S. Representative Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission to expand its probe into whether any improper trading in investment banks’ shares has recently taken place. He wants the SEC to determine whether the rumors of misconduct are being circulated to drive certain investment banks, such as Bear Stearns, out of business.

In a letter addressed to SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, Frank noted that there had been an “unusually high level of short-selling activity” in Bear Stearns stock right before the company fell apart. He also noted that similar trading in the stocks of other large investment banks has occurred.

Frank cited concerns that some of this trading may be orchestrated by market participants that are trying to bring the share prices down. Frank is calling on the SEC to investigate trading activity of stocks in all the big investment banks.

Ex-Assent LLC Broker Pleads Guilty to Concealing Insider Trading Activities

Published on: April 17, 2008 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

In the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on April 10, ex-Assent LLC registered broker Samuel Childs pled guilty to a conspiracy charge to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and commercial bribery for agreeing to receive $100,000 in exchange for concealing insider trading activities from Assent senior executives. In court, Childs, 35, announced that he was 100% guilty.

This case is part of a broader criminal probe involving 13 people that have pled guilty to a massive insider trading scheme involving data they acquired from Wall Street brokerage companies. Defendants included ex-employees from Morgan Stanley, UBS AG, Bear Stearns Co, and Bank of America Corp.

The Justice Department says that one of the defendants, former UBS Securities executive Mitchel Guttenburg, had sold nonpublic data prepared by UBS stock analysts to another defendant, trader David Tavdy.

Schwab YieldPlus Fund Investors File Securities Class Action Lawsuit Alleging Marketing Misrepresentation in Funds’ Offering Documents

Published on: April 15, 2008 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A class action law suit has been filed on behalf of those who bought Schwab YieldPlus Investor Funds Investor Shares and Schwab YieldPlus Funds Select Shares against the Schwab Corporation, the underwriter and investment adviser connected to the funds, and several Schwab officers and directors. However, many smart investors are instead seeking greater recovery by filing their own cases.

The investor plaintiffs in the class action claim the defendants misled them when they provided false statements about the funds’ lack of diversification and the degree to which the funds were exposed to subprime-backed securities. The plaintiffs say that the funds-marketed as a safe alternative to money market funds-actually had more than half of its fund assets invested in the mortgage industry.

The funds are down significantly. Through March 26, The Schwab YieldPlus Investor Fund (SWYPX) has fallen 17% , while the Schwab California Tax-Free YieldPlus Fund (SWYCX) has dropped by 9% . Investors say that the defendants were in violation of Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 when they misrepresented the funds to investors, marketing them with the goal of looking for high current income coupled with minimum share price changes.

Ameriprise Settles Lawsuit Alleging That Six of Its Financial Advisers Forged Customer Signatures

Published on: April 14, 2008 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Ameriprise Financial says it will pay $3.8 million to settle a lawsuit with New Hampshire regulators accusing six of the company’s financial advisers of forging the signatures of at least 96 customers.

The signatures were allegedly forged to make it seem that certain financial plans had been delivered when in fact they had not been sent. The New Hampshire regulators say that the advisers did this to make it appear is if their sales numbers were higher than their actual figures.

Out of the settlement, $333,948 will reimburse investors and $250,000 will cover legal and investigation expenses.

16 State Farm Entity Representatives Settle FINRA Test-Taking Sanctions

Published on: April 10, 2008 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced that 16 current and-ex State Farm VP Management Corp. registered representatives have settled charges of alleged misconduct regarding FINRA’s Continuing Education Requirements for taking tests. FINRA says that the representatives have agreed to fines ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 and suspensions from 30 days up to six months in length. One person agreed to a ban from working as a principal.

FINRA says that 9 of the 16 representatives were supervisors that allowed or directed subordinates to take State Farm’s ‘Firm Element’ proficiency test for them. One supervisor told a subordinate to take the test for other reps. The other six registered representatives that settled were the ones that took the test for others.

The SRO says State Farm did not know about the misconduct and self-reported after it discovered that there were irregularities taking place in one of its regions. State Farm began investigating the incidents. It then expanded its probe nationally and reported its findings to FINRA.

Rogue Fidelity Investment Adviser’s Prison Sentence is Vacated Due to Improper Application of “Identity Theft Enhancement”

Published on: April 8, 2008 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit says that a district court improperly applied an “identity theft enhancement” when calculating the prison sentence of Bryan Hawes, a rogue investment adviser who had pled guilty to two counts of mail fraud. As a result, Judge Marjorie Rendell vacated Hawes’s 6 ½ year prison sentence and remanded for sentencing.

Hawes is the owner and president of Financial Management Advisory Services (FMAS) and Financial Management Services (FMS) Inc. He is also a registered investment adviser. He became an authorized representative for Fidelity Investment Advisors Group in 1997.

According to the court, Hawes defrauded his investment adviser clients. Rather than fulfill the agreements he made to buy annuities for them, he would either keep the money or buy annuities but later liquidate them for his personal use.

The Association For Financial Professionals Wants SEC Chairman Cox To Push Harder For Reform Of Credit Rating Agencies

Published on: April 4, 2008 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Association for Financial Professionals is calling on Securities and Exchange Commission head Christopher Cox to use the SEC’s authority to push for the reform of the credit rating agencies.

In a letter from the AFP, CEO Jim Kaitz urged Cox to use the authority that Congress granted the SEC with the Credit Rating Agency Reform Act of 2006, which gives the SEC permission to hold the agencies accountable for providing timely and accurate ratings.

SEC Director of Trading and Markets Erik Sirri has said, however, that although the SEC can hold credit rating systems accountable for their ratings, it does not have the authority to interfere with the way that agencies assign ratings, which is a key issue that is impacting the current subprime mortgage market crisis.

Two Brazilian Nationals Indicted For Alleged Involvement In $50 Million Telemarketing Scheme

Published on: April 3, 2008 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Two Brazilian nationals have been indicted on money laundering and other charges related to an alleged $50 million international penny stock scam that took money from many international investors.

The two defendants, Marcos Macchione and Rodrigo Molina, face charges of money laundering, conspiracy, and participating in illegal financial transactions. The two men reside in Florida and are being charged in connection with their involvement with the US part of the securities scam. A Florida jury handed out the indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Doron Mukamal, the alleged leader of the telemarketing securities scam, was also arrested. He lives in Brazil, as do his 17 partners, employees, associates, and money launderers that were also arrested.