These Wall Street products take a simple idea and make it way too risky for ninety-nine out of a hundred investors. The simple idea is the Exchange Traded Fund, or ETF. These are index funds. Unlike mutual funds that trade only at the end of the day, ETFs can be bought and sold throughout the […]
Principal Protected Notes
In “A Short History of Financial Euphoria” the late economist John Kenneth Galbraith wrote, “The world of finance hails the invention of the wheel over and over again, often in a slightly more unstable version.” Witness then, yet another Wall Street innovation: the Principal Protected Note – aka, the Structured Note. Structured Notes are “IOUs” to […]
Brian Smiley Appointed to SICA
Brian Smiley was appointed as one of three public members of the Securities Industry Conference on Arbitration (SICA). SICA was established in 1977 with the support of the SEC to help protect the rights of public investors in securities arbitration. SICA provides a forum at which securities arbitration forums, state regulators, the SEC, representatives of investors, and the securities […]
Auction Rate Securities
For a number of years, stockbrokers told individual and institutional clients with significant cash holdings that there was a safe way to earn a better return than money market funds, without risking a loss of principal. The place to get these returns was in Auction Rate Securities (ARS). It turns out the ARS were not […]
Common Forms of Stockbroker Misconduct
By Brian N. Smiley In recent months, the brokerage industry has been the subject of scathing headlines about fraud, corruption and conflicts of interest. The media have reported on abuses ranging from tainted research reports to outright theft by brokers. Investors have lost billions of dollars and confidence in securities markets has plummeted. Happily for […]
Brian Smiley Recognized by Georgia Super Lawyers Magazine
Brian Smiley has been named by Georgia Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top attorneys in Georgia for 2011. Only 5% of the lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers. The selections for this esteemed list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of the Thomson Reuters […]
John C. Porter, Jr. Recognized by Georgia Super Lawyers Magazine
John C. Porter, Jr. has been named by Georgia Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top attorneys in Georgia for 2011. Only 5% of the lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers. The selections for this esteemed list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of […]
10 Ways to Protect Yourself Against Fraud
If you hope to prosper in today’s volatile market and lack the time or skill to choose your investments, you should find an honest, competent professional adviser, but that is easier said than done. Many brokers invest client funds with prudence and skill and put their clients’ interests first, even when inherent market risk brings […]
Principal Protected Notes
Smiley Bishop & Porter LLP is investigating Principal Protected Notes (aka, Structured Notes) commonly sold by major Wall Street firms. The notes are touted as safe investments with a guaranteed minimum rate of return with additional upside related to market or index performance. Unfortunately, Structured Notes are not as safe an investment as promised. Issues […]
Auction Rate Securities
Smiley Bishop & Porter LLP has represented clients with significant losses resulting from investments in Auction Rate Securities (ARS). These securities were sold by virtually every major Wall Street firm and were marketed as a highly liquid, safe investment equivalent to CDs or money markets, but with a higher interest rate. In reality, the auction market was […]
