Securities Litigation Consulting Group of Fairfax, Virginia has estimated that shareholders of non-traded REITs are about $50 billion worse off for having put money into non-traded REITs rather than exchange-traded REITs. The estimate is based on the difference between the performance of more than 80 non-traded REITs and the performance of a diversified portfolio of…
Continue reading ›A FINRA arbitration panel awarded $1 million to an investor whose portfolio was over-concentrated in UBS Puerto Rico closed-end bond funds. The 66 year-old conservative investor reportedly “lost $737,000 of his nearly $1 million portfolio when the value of UBS’ Puerto Rico municipal bond funds collapsed in the fall of 2013.” When the client expressed…
Continue reading ›Inland American REIT has changed its name to Inventrust Properties Corp. In addition, the Company’s SEC fillings report a recent tender offer of $2.00 per unit from Mackenzie Realty. The $2.00 a share tender offer represents a sharp dropoff from Inland American’s initial offering price of $10.00 a share. Inland American is an enormous company-…
Continue reading ›Douglas William Finlay, Jr., a stockbroker formerly associated with Cadaret, Grant & Co., has entered into a Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent (AWC) with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to settle a case in which FINRA alleged that Finlay over-concentrated a customer’s assets in an unsuitable illiquid real estate investment trust (REIT). In…
Continue reading ›The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently fined LPL Financial $10 million fine and ordered it to pay $1.7 million in restitution to investors who lost money with LPL brokers. The charges levied by FINRA alleged widespread supervisory failures involving securities such as nontraditional exchange-traded funds, variable annuities and non-traded real estate investment trusts (or…
Continue reading ›Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) records show that broker Christopher Veale (Veale) has been the subject of multiple customer complaints as well as other regulatory proceedings arising out of his dealings with customers. FINRA records indicate that Veale has had at least 12 customer complaints, as well as six judgments, levied against him. FINRA records…
Continue reading ›The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) recently sanctioned and barred stockbroker Matthew Davis due to allegations of misconduct while Davis was associated with Beneficial Investment Services, Inc. from November 2008, through April 2010. Davis was later employed by OneAmerica Securities, Inc. from April 2010, through July 2013. FINRA’s charges allege that Davis misappropriate customer funds,…
Continue reading ›South Florida financial advisor Ariel Hernandez, was reportedly arrested and accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from customers. Hernandez allegedly transferred funds out of customer accounts and into accounts in his name, in the process allegedly forging a customer’s signature. Authorities in the South Florida community of Pembroke Pines have charged Hernandez with…
Continue reading ›Oil prices have rapidly tumbled to under $50 a barrel, from well over $100 a barrel, leaving prices at their lowest level since 2009. As a result of the plummet in oil prices, some investors whose portfolios were concentrated in investments whose value is linked to the price of oil or other energy products have…
Continue reading ›Popular Securities, Inc. (Popular Securities) was recently sanctioned by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for violations in their dealings related to Puerto Rico municipal bond funds. Managers touted the Puerto Rico bond funds as providing tax benefits to investors, such as exemption from United States estate and gift taxes, as well as triple tax…
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