Archive for the ‘Scott Turnbull’ Category
Does Financial Regulation Equal Greater Investor Protection?
The Dodd-Frank financial overhaul legislation was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. What impact does it have for individual retail investors? The consensus among the experts is that it has no immediate benefit for retail investors but could result in significant changes down the road. Office of the Investor Advocate and the ...
Did you incur losses on preferred stock?
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac common stock was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange today. This brought back memories regarding preferred stock losses that continue to weigh down investment accounts. Many investors sustained significant financial losses as a result of holding large, concentrated positions in a single preferred stock such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac ...
Risk Tolerance – Are you risk adverse or risk tolerant?
Risk tolerance is the degree of uncertainty that an investor can handle in regard to a negative change in the value of an investment. Risk of loss of principal is the primary risk concern for investors but there are other risks to be considered such inflation risk, interest rate risk, credit default risk, liquidity risk ...
Structured Products – Buyer Beware
With interest rates at all time lows, interest and dividend yields on fixed income investments have declined. As a result, investors and financial advisors are looking for alternative investments that generate higher yields and some advisors are recommending structured products such as reverse convertibles, principal protected notes, and other similarly named investments. What is a structured ...
Flash Crash and Stop-Loss Orders
On May 6, 2010, there was a “flash crash” in the equity markets. For example, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined nearly 1,000 points before bouncing back somewhat by the close of the trading day. Many investment and retirement accounts were not likely harmed by the flash crash. But some investors, contrary to their expectation, ...
Securities Litigation 2010: Palm Beach County Bar Association
I attended a recent seminar presented by the Palm Beach County Bar Association Securities Law CLE committee. The seminar was titled Criminal, Civil, Regulatory and Ethics “Now What Do We Have to Worry About?” Lawyers representing individual investors, financial advisors and brokerage firms attended the seminar. State and federal prosecutors and defense attorneys presented the securities ...
What is a stock borrow program?
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. $650,000 for disclosure and supervisory violations relating to the operation of its stock borrow program. What is a stock borrow program? A stock borrow program is an agreement between the customer and his/her brokerage firm that allows the brokerage firm to borrow securities from the customer’s ...
The Alphabet Soup of Securities Litigation
The alphabet soup of securities litigation starts with the broad variety of investment securities offered by financial advisors. For example, CDO (collateralized debt obligation) SIVs (structured investment vehicles), MBS (mortgage backed securities), and trust preferred securities were common investments held by large financial institutions and owned in client investment accounts. Investors of all risk tolerances ...
Securities law: What investors and advisors should know now
Welcome to my securities law blog. As an experienced securities litigation attorney and former financial advisor, I am writing to educate and provide information to investors, financial advisors, and others about the financial services industry. The blog provides information on investment advisory services and their regulation. In my posts, I will cover three main areas: financial ...