Regulators Investigate “Fraud Lunches” For SeniorsSep 10, 2007,By Christina Mucciolo An investigation of 110 investment firms was made public today at a Senior Summit held by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC and the Financial Industry Regulation Authority (FINRA) conducted a year-long examination (April 2006 to June 2007), and found that “free lunch” seminars advertised as educational sessions (sans sales pitches) for senior citizens were more like recruiting venues, replete with sales presentations of financial products and fraud. (Click here to read the release.) Although the names of the firms were not disclosed, the release says the areas of the investigation included states which have a large population of retirees, such as Florida, California, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, Alabama and South Carolina.... FPA Helps Firms Comply With B/d Exemption RulingSep 10, 2007,By Kristen French In the wake of the D.C. Court of Appeals ruling on March 30 that killed the broker/dealer exemption and fee-based brokerage accounts, the Financial Planning Association is making an effort to help brokerage firms and their advisors comply, said Dan Moisand, Chairman of the FPA, at a Sunday press briefing during its annual meeting in Seattle, Washington. In particular, the FPA said it is working to help any financial advisors who use the Certified Financial Planner designation on their business cards and do not already act as fiduciaries, get registered as investment advisors under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and to help the firms employing them handle the additional liability this entails. Firms have until October 1, 2007 to comply with the Court of Appeals ruling.... SEC to Advisors: Stop Fleecing the ElderlySep 6, 2007,By John Churchill Protecting elderly investors is high on the priority list of the SEC, judging from speeches and notices to members. And it made it clear today firms that tolerate brokers who exploit elderly clients will pay.... SEC Principal Trade Proposal: A Stalling Tactic?Aug 28, 2007,By John Churchill Broker-dealers may get a long wished for break from the burdens of principal trade regulation for the investment advisor side of their businesses—for a little while anyway.... Overtime Claims Make Their Way To SchwabAug 24, 2007,By Halah Touryalai The overtime suits keep on coming, as Charles Schwab became the latest target of the claims. ... Merrill broker and his wife accused of unthinkable animal cruelty (Or, “Don’t read if you are sickened easily”)Aug 23, 2007,By Christina Mucciolo Last Wednesday, August 15, a DHL deliveryman uncovered over 100 animals (cats and dogs) living and dead in total squalor in the $2.4 million dollar Saddle River, NJ home owned by Merrill Lynch broker, Philip Tamis, 66 and his wife, Cynthia Stewart, 49. ... Lending Mess Just a Strain on Returns For Most AdvisorsAug 17, 2007,By John Churchill Subprime loans, margin lending, hedge fund collapses—for a majority of advisors the storm is still outside their clients’ portfolios.... Now Showing At UBS: Some Far Out Avant Garde Performance ArtAug 15, 2007,By David Geracioti Artists have always needed wealthy patrons. Bet you didn’t know that UBS’s headquarters at 1285 Avenue of the Americas (bet. 51st and 52nd streets) in New York City also serves as an art gallery, featuring four art shows a year. ... “Injured” Banc One Fund Shareholders Finally Get Their ChecksAug 14, 2007,By Kevin Burke For One Group Funds’ shareholders, the wait is over. Today, the SEC said that roughly $55.6 million in so-called “fair funds” have been distributed to more than 200,000 investors who were bilked by fraudulent market timing activity in certain Banc One mutual funds—the One Group Funds. (If you’re scoring at home, that’s about $278 per shareholder; the amount received was based on the amount invested.) ... Merrill Grabs Advisors Producing $5.5 million From Rival UBSAug 13, 2007,By Halah Touryalai Merrill Lynch won big last week in the aggressive industry-wide recruiting war for top advisors. The firm recruited away from UBS a team of three producers, and their support staff, with $2.5 billion in assets under management and $5.5 million in trailing 12-month production.... Campos Out at SECAug 9, 2007,By John Churchill Roel Campos, one of five SEC commissioners and one of the two Democrats, is stepping down in a month, leaving for the private sector.... McColgan Abruptly Leaves FidelityAug 8, 2007,By Christina Mucciolo After 17 years with Fidelity, Ellyn McColgan stepped down as president of Fidelity Investments distribution and operations, which includes Fidelity Registered Investment Advisor Group (FRIAG), the RIA custodian arm of the mutual fund giant. The news came as a surprise to some considering just five months ago she was assigned to the post by Edward, “Ned” Johnson III, chairman and chief executive of Fidelity.... Senior Fraud Crackdown ContinuesAug 7, 2007,By Kristen French Does the designation you hold suggest you cheat the elderly? More state securities regulators are trying to find out, while the Securities Exchange Commission has just called its second annual “Seniors Summit” for September 10. Like last year, the event is meant to examine ways in which regulators and other groups can help prevent the overwhelming amount of senior fraud being committed in the securities industry. (For more about this year’s summit, click here.) ... FINRA Sticks as SEC Approves Regulator ConsolidationJul 30, 2007,By Halah Touryalai After some minor bumps along the way, the NASD and NYSE merger is official. The regulators’ consolidation, which was announced on November 28 and approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 26, became effective today. ... Fired Merrill Manager Promoted at New FirmJul 26, 2007,By Halah Touryalai So maybe his reputation wasn’t so damaged after all—or maybe it’s just made a comeback. The former Merrill Lynch sales manager who sued Hydie Sumner and her lawyer Linda Friedman in September of 2006 on grounds that the women damaged his reputation and had him fired was promoted to branch office manager of Southwest Securities’ private client branch in San Antonio, Tex. last week.... Smith Barney Fined $50 Million for Market Timing; More Firms, Reps To Be FinedJul 25, 2007,By Kevin Burke So you thought the market timing scandal was over. Think again. While nearly all the mutual fund shops nabbed in the Eliot Spitzer-led trading investigation have settled with regulators, brokerage firms are still being put through the wringer for their involvement in illicit trading activity. Individual brokers who were involved in abusive trading may also be punished. ... SEC to RIAs: WelcomeJul 24, 2007,By John Churchill In keeping with regulators trying to be more proactive and less reactive, the SEC is cozying up to newly registered investment advisers. Have you received a “welcome letter?”... Ex-Merrill Broker Wins $1.6 Million in Rare Arbitration AwardJul 23, 2007,By Kevin Burke An NASD arbitration panel awarded a former Merrill Lynch broker $1.6 million for wrongful termination and defamation, claims he had filed against his former employer. The award included compensatory damages of $400,000 plus interest and punitive damages of $1.2 million. Awards of that size are a rarity in arbitration cases brought by employees against brokerage firms. ... SIFMA Says Keep the 12b-1 Fees, Ad InfinitumJul 20, 2007,By Christina Mucciolo The securities industry is fighting tooth and nail to save 12b-1 fees. Exactly one month after the June 19 SEC roundtable convened to discuss the fate of 12b-1 fees, the securities industry’s lobby group, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), released its comment letter today. The letter says that 12b-1 fees are a necessary part of doing business, and that abolishing them will harm investors and stunt industry competition.... Merrill Reports Strong Revenues, Adds 270 AdvisorsJul 18, 2007,By Kevin Burke Merrill Lynch’s retail brokerage arm turned in another strong quarter, as fee-based revenue continued to climb to record levels. Merrill Lynch Global Private Client saw its revenues increase by 13 percent to $3.3 billion from $2.9 billion in the year-ago quarter. The pretax profit margin for the entire Global Wealth Management division was 27.9 percent, up from 23.7 percent in the prior-year period, driven by the impact of the investment in BlackRock and prudent expense controls.... Can’t We All Just Get Along? FPA says FINRA Won’t Do for NYSE/NASDJul 18, 2007,By Halah Touryalai Seems like NASD and NYSE regulation can’t catch a break. First it was Muslims, now it’s the Financial Planning Association that is unhappy with the merged regulatory bodies’ potential new name.... Bear’s Cayne: Cheating At Golf?Jul 16, 2007,By Christina Mucciolo You’ve probably heard about Bear Stearns’ CEO Jimmy Cayne’s numerous golf outings in June—while his company’s hedge funds were tanking. You might have also heard that he tends to score in the high 90s, so it might not surprise you to hear that the Hollywood Country Club in Deal, N.J., is investigating Cayne’s victory at a Jul. 4 golf tournament. ... Drink Pepsi, Raise The DeadJul 13, 2007,By John Churchill The regulatory body composed of the NYSE Regulation and the NASD Regulation, known for the past 5 weeks as SIRA, is getting another name.... With Wuffli Out, What Next for UBS? A Wealth Management Surge in the USAJul 10, 2007,By John Churchill Peter Wuffli was replaced as CEO of UBS last week after the firm realized millions of dollars in losses in an internal hedge fund, according to published reports. Marcel Roehner, who was previously deputy CEO and head of global wealth management and business banking, replaced him. ... Wachovia Securities to Make New Home in St. LouisJun 28, 2007,By Christina Mucciolo St. Louis will officially be home to the new Wachovia Securities, after Federal Antitrust regulators approved Wachovia Corp.’s acquisition of A.G. Edwards on Monday. Wachovia says the proxy detailing the ins and outs of the deal for shareholder approval should be ready within the next week....
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Blogs & OpinionGet the latest from Registered Rep. Editor-in-Chief David A. Geracioti on his blog Von Aldo.
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