On October 24, 2014, the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA), an international bar association comprised of attorneys dedicated to the representation of individual investors in disputes with the securities industry, announced the 2014 PIABA Distinguished Service Award recipient, Brian N. Smiley. Brian is a former president of PIABA and member of its board of […]
Smiley Presentation Receives National Press
Brian Smiley moderated a panel discussion on “The Arbitrator’s Perspective” at the 2014 PIABA Annual Meeting in La Quinta, California. Brian has spoken over 15 times at PIABA meetings on topics ranging from brokerage misconduct to arbitration strategy and techniques. This most recent presentation was the subject of a 10/27/2014 article http://www.thestreet.com/story/12927272/1/fighting-your-broker-in-arbitration-finra-judges-give-some-tips.html in TheStreet by […]
TICs That Bite Investors
Smiley Bishop & Porter is pursuing claims against stock brokerage firms that made unsuitable recommendations that their clients invest in tenancy in common (TIC) properties. A TIC is a form of property ownership in which several people individually own an undivided part of an entire income producing property like an office building, warehouse or retail […]
TICs That Bite Investors
Smiley Bishop & Porter is pursuing claims against stock brokerage firms that made unsuitable recommendations that their clients invest in tenancy in common (TIC) properties. A TIC is a form of property ownership in which several people individually own an undivided part of an entire income producing property like an office building, warehouse or retail […]
FINRA Head Explains Perils of Complex Investment Products
Richard G. Ketchum, Chairman and CEO of FINRA, appeared before the securities industry trade group SIFMA at its Complex Products Forum on September 27, 2012 in New York to admonish brokerage firms about the perils and obligations involved in marketing complex investment products to investors. According to Ketchum, while there is no legal definition of […]
Houston & Lett v. Wells Fargo Advisors
(FINRA, 2011) Elderly Investor Recovers Losses Tied to UIT After a four day hearing, a panel of FINRA arbitrators awarded $130,000.00 in compensatory damages to our clients. The damages were for losses incurred by an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s disease whose funds were invested primarily in high-risk securities, including a Claymore Unit Investment Trust (“UIT”).
What’s a UIT?
With apologies to “My Cousin Vinnie,” a UIT is a Unit Investment Trust. UITs are investment products that brokers love to sell and investors should avoid. UITs are portfolios of stocks, bonds, or mutual funds which are assembled by trustees and then sold in units consisting of a portion of all of the assets in […]
