Banks Law learned this week that we prevailed on all major issues in a hotly contested 8 day JAMS (Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services) arbitration we tried in New Orleans in February. The case involved the operation and management of an investment advisory firm and a hedge fund. The total award exceeds $1.2 million, plus…
Continue reading ›It is still going to be too easy for arbitrators to grant expungment when they only hear the broker’s unchallenged testimony and evidence Robert Banks was quoted today in Investment News Daily commenting on a proposed rule that FINRA sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. The rule would prevent FINRA members who…
Continue reading ›Page one of the Wall Street Journal today reports a devastating truth: Brokerage reports are full of holes . Criminal charges, bankruptcy filings, tax liens, and a host of other complaints and violations are missing from the reports on stockbrokers that are available on FINRA’s brokercheck website, The Wall Street Journal article, entitled Stockbrokers Fail…
Continue reading ›Investors wary of a broker’s self-interest in selling commission-based products may look to change to a fee-based advisory account. Rather than charging a commission for each transaction, fee based accounts typically charge an annual fee based on total account value. However, while a broker might “churn” an account in commission situations by inappropriately purchasing securities…
Continue reading ›Investor Defender attorney Darlene Pasieczny was recognized recently at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA), in Orlando, Florida. Pasieczny was commended for her work on PIABA’s SRO Committee, which monitors FINRA and SEC arbitration rule-making proposals that are of significant interest to the PIABA membership and investing public. With…
Continue reading ›Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass, who was instrumental in FINRA’s development of its BrokerCheck database and a proponent of investor protection, issued a letter today to FINRA’s Chairman Richard Ketchum and forwarded to SEC Chair Mary Jo White. Senator Markey’s letter criticizes improper expungement of arbitration awards from BrokerCheck records, a practice that the Public…
Continue reading ›The high profile case featured today in an abc exclusive video shows that investors feel some sense of resolution knowing that Walter and Kelly Ng (the duo who reportedly devised a scheme that robbed investors of millions of dollars), might do time for their alleged crime. However, it remains to be seen if investors will…
Continue reading ›Our original concerns about Wells Fargo Broker Adorean Boleancu have escalated. In March, Boleancu was ordered by FINRA to pay back a widowed client $650,000. He was indicted on charges of check fraud and money laundering in California and, in a civil complaint filed in August of 2012, it was alleged that Boleancu made an…
Continue reading ›Hats off to the Investment Advisory Committee for recommending a fiduciary standard for retail brokerage firms. A fiduciary standard simply requires that the fiduciary place the client’s interest first. I have yet to see a financial advisor, however they are registered or licensed, disclaim that obligation while they are giving advice and getting compensated to…
Continue reading ›A FINRA letter of acceptance, waiver and consent states that Kevin Lee Cline (CRD No. 2448720) and Robert J.R. Burr (CRD No. 2579551) and Vincent Christopher (CRD No. 534944) and Thomas C. Gilleland (CRD NO. 5504595) are or were associated with Source. Source’s Adams Street branch office was the sole seller of private offerings of…
Continue reading ›
