On February 28, 2018, FINRA Enforcement entered into a settlement via Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (“AWC”) with Respondent Western International Securities, Inc. (“WIS”) (CRD# 39262). Specifically, without admitting or denying any wrongdoing — WIS consented to paying a fine of $521,908, in addition to restitution to certain investors in the amount of $125,000 — in…
Continue reading ›Investors in American Realty Capital New York City REIT (“ARC NYC REIT”), may have arbitration claims to be pursued before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), if their ARC NYC REIT investment was recommended by a financial advisor who lacked a reasonable basis for the recommendation, or if the nature of the investment was misrepresented…
Continue reading ›In the past six months alone, several third-party real estate investment firms have launched unsolicited tender offers to purchase InvenTrust Properties Inc. (“InvenTrust”) shares at a significant discount. InvenTrust investors may have arbitration claims to be pursued before FINRA, in the event that their investment was recommended by a financial advisor who lacked a reasonable…
Continue reading ›Investors who have recently tried to redeem investments made in real estate investment trusts (REITs) or limited partnerships (LPs) may have encountered an unpleasant surprise – many sponsors of such investments have ended or suspended redemption programs for investors. Redemption programs are mechanisms by which investors in non-publicly traded securities may sell their securities back…
Continue reading ›Investors in Griffin-American Healthcare REIT III (“GAH REIT III”), may have FINRA arbitration claims, if their investment was recommended by a financial advisor who lacked a reasonable basis for the recommendation, or if the nature of the investment was misrepresented by the broker or financial advisor. GAH REIT III is sponsored by American Healthcare Investors…
Continue reading ›Investors in the LJM Preservation and Growth Fund suffered substantial losses in early February, 2018 as volatility in broad stock market indices spiked. LJM Preservation and Growth Fund (“LJM P&G Fund” or the “Fund”) (LJMAX, LJMCX, LJMIX) is a mutual fund advised by LJM Funds Management, Ltd., (“LJM”). LJM is headquartered in Chicago, IL, and…
Continue reading ›A recent spike in stock market volatility has brought into focus the enormous risks associated with certain exchange-traded-products (ETPs) linked to the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index (VIX). However, these products have previously been the subject of several warnings by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Created in 1993, the VIX attempts to…
Continue reading ›Investors in American Realty Capital New York City REIT (“ARC NYC REIT”), may have arbitration claims to be pursued before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), if their ARC NYC REIT investment was recommended by a financial advisor who lacked a reasonable basis for the recommendation, or if the nature of the investment was misrepresented…
Continue reading ›Investors who bought into inverse volatility-linked exchange traded funds (ETFs) on the recommendation of their broker or financial advisor may be able to recover their losses in FINRA arbitration. Inverse volatility-linked investments are designed to return a profit when the market experiences periods of calmness, or low volatility. However, unlike more traditional investments and strategies…
Continue reading ›Financial advisor Melvin Elwood Case (CRD# 2393464) has been suspended from the securities industry. According to publicly available information through FINRA, on January 19, 2018, Mr. Case, without admitting or denying FINRA Enforcement’s findings, consented to being barred from the securities industry in all capacities for a period of six months (the suspension is set…
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