Reverse convertible notes are short-term bonds peddled to investors by Wall Street firms. Throughout their term, they pay comparatively high interest rates, but whether they pay back the investor’s principal is the big question. The reason for that question is because a reverse convertible’s principal repayment is linked to the performance of a specific stock […]
Lehman Brothers Principal Protected Notes
Anyone who was sold one of these notes learned the hard way: in broker-speak the terms “principal protected” and even “100% principal protected” does not really mean your principal is protected. After Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, holders of the notes learned that they are just unsecured creditors of the insolvent […]
Fraudulent and Unsuitable Private Placements
Under the federal and state securities laws, most securities must be registered with the SEC before they can be solicited or sold to the investing public. In the issuer’s registration statement and in periodic reports filed after a company goes public, the issuer of securities provides detailed financial information which reasonable investors can use to […]
Private Placement Securities
Smiley Bishop & Porter LLP is investigating the fraudulent or unsuitable sales of private placement securities to brokerage firm clients. Click here for a detailed examination of private placements. The lack of transparency in the private placement market has allowed it to become a fertile breeding ground for fraud that has generated regulatory investigations and […]
Securities America/Medical Capital and Provident Royalties
Smiley Bishop & Porter LLP is investigating Securities America’s Medical Capital, Inc. promissory notes and Provident Royalties preferred stock. Clients have brought claims against the firm alleging that it failed to adequately investigate these products, that the investments were unsuitable, and that the firm did not disclose the products’ risks, which were substantial. The Securities […]
Judge Frees Investors to Pursue Medical Capital Holdings and Provident Royalties Arbitration Claims
Brokerage firms normally want to stay out of court and force their clients to sue in arbitration; yet, Securities America, a subsidiary of Ameriprise Financial, Inc., went to court in an effort to cram down a class action settlement on its clients who had brought individual FINRA arbitration claims against it. Why? Money (of course). Securities […]
Lisa Mitchum, Certified PLS, reelected as Region 4 Director of NALS, Inc.
Lisa Mitchum, Certified PLS, a legal assistant with the firm, was recently installed as a Regional Director of NALS…the association for legal professionals (http://www.nals.org) for a second term during NALS’ Professional Development and Education Conference held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, March 11-13, 2011. The 60th Annual NALS Education Conference & National Forum will be held October […]
Lisa Mitchum, Certified PLS, reelected as Region 4 Director of NALS, Inc.
Lisa Mitchum, Certified PLS, a legal assistant with the firm, was recently installed as a Regional Director of NALS – the association for legal professionals (http://www.nals.org) – for a second term during NALS’ Professional Development and Education Conference held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, March 11-13, 2011. The 60th Annual NALS Education Conference & National Forum will […]
Citigroup/Smith Barney MAT/ASTA Funds
Smiley Bishop & Porter LLP is investigating the Citigroup/Smith Barney MAT/ASTA Hedge Funds. The Funds were allegedly marketed as conservative, suitable investments. Unfortunately, the Funds were heavily leveraged and exposed to higher risk than represented. The Funds were involved in a risky investment strategy known as municipal arbitrage, and many investors were unaware of the […]
MAT/ASTA Fund
In 2002, Citigroup’s Smith Barney brokerage unit started marketing six MAT/ASTA hedge funds to its clients. These Citigroup proprietary funds were trusts, which used borrowed money to buy municipal bonds, and were supposed to make profits based on the spread in interest rates between borrowed and invested funds. Total assets in these funds were approximately […]
