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…
Continue reading ›Investors in American Finance Trust (“AFIN”), formerly known as American Realty Capital Trust V, Inc., may have arbitration claims to be pursued before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), if their AFIN position was recommended by an investment advisor who lacked a reasonable basis for the recommendation, or if the nature of the investment was…
Continue reading ›As highlighted in our previous blog posts concerning the Woodbridge Group of Companies (“Woodbridge”) of Sherman Oaks, CA, Woodbridge filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on December 4, 2017, in Delaware Bankruptcy Court (Case No. 17-12560-KJC). Thereafter, on December 21st, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) formally filed charges against Woodbridge and its owner and former…
Continue reading ›Investors who bought into Credit Suisse’s Velocity Shares Daily Inverse VIX Short Term Exchange-Traded Note (“XIV”) on the recommendation of their broker or financial advisor may be able to recover their losses in FINRA arbitration. As we discussed in several recent blog posts, inverse volatility-linked investments are designed to return a profit when the market…
Continue reading ›Investors who have lost money on the recommendation of their broker or financial advisor to invest in volatility related financial products may be able to recover their losses in FINRA arbitration. As we discussed in a recent blog post, inverse volatility-linked investments are designed to return a profit when the market experiences periods of low…
Continue reading ›On February 9, 2017, FINRA Enforcement signed off on a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (“AWC”) between FINRA and former financial advisor Matthew C. Maczko (“Maczko” or “Respondent”) (CRD# 1888519). Without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings, Mr. Maczko voluntarily consented to an industry bar from associating with any FINRA member firm in any capacity.…
Continue reading ›A number of investors have recently filed arbitration claims with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) against broker Austin Richard Dutton, Jr. (CRD# 2739167). Publicly available information indicates that Mr. Dutton was previously affiliated with Newbridge Securities Corporation (“Newbridge”) (CRD# 104065) from 2007-2017. Currently, Mr. Dutton is affiliated with Sandlapper Securities, LLC (“Sandlapper”) (CRD# 137906),…
Continue reading ›
