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 […]
Mike Bishop elected president of North Fulton Bar Association
Smiley Bishop & Porter partner J. Michael Bishop has been elected president of the North Fulton Bar Association for 2012-2013. The NFBA consists of approximately 130 members who are primarily lawyers practicing or living north of the Chattahoochee River in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. Its membership also includes judges whose jurisdictions include North Fulton County. […]
A Selective Overview of Provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
Reasons for the Act Inspired by the financial meltdown of 2007-2010 Home market collapsed: total home equity in US dropped from $13 trillion in 2006 to $8.8 trillion by mid-2008, foreclosures Over 100 mortgage lenders went bankrupt in 2007-08 Money market funds experience mass withdrawals ($144.5 billion in a week, compared to $7.1 prior week) […]
Initial Impressions: What Do Financial Planning Designations Mean?
If there is one thing that is not in short supply in the financial planning profession it’s initials. Professional designations in the financial planning business include CFPs, CFAs, ChFCs, RIAs, RRs, and CSAs to list only a few. To make things even more confusing, many people carry multiple designations. While no professional designation guarantees wisdom […]
Investors Warned About Stock-Based Loan Programs
FINRA has issued an Investor Alert to warn investors about stock-based loan programs. Brokers, financial planners, insurance agents and other advisors are pitching these programs as a way for clients to tap into the value of their stock holdings without having to sell their shares. The idea is that the broker will arrange for the […]
Nuveen Investments Fined $3 Million by FINRA
FINRA announced it fined Nuveen Investments $3 million for misleading marketing materials used to push its auction-rate preferred securities. Nuveen did not directly sell the securities to its customers, but it did create marketing brochures used by the brokers who sold the ARPS to retail customers. According to the FINRA news release, “The brochures were […]
If You Want More Fraud, Try Cutting The SEC’S Budget
The SEC’s budget is the topic of hot debate, with SEC Chair Mary Schapiro begging Congress not to make further cuts to the agency that is charged with policing our securities laws. It is distressing to contemplate that this is even up for discussion at a time when investors are still climbing out of the […]
An Outline of the FINRA Arbitration Process For Customer-Broker Disputes
I. General A. Nearly all brokerage firms require retail clients to sign an agreement to have all disputes between them decided in arbitration rather than court. B. About 25 years ago, in Shearson/Am. Express, Inc. v. McMahon, 402 U.S. 220 (1987), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the validity of arbitration clauses which require clients to […]
Wells Fargo Settles SEC Claims that Wachovia Sold CDOs to Indian Tribe at Inflated Prices in 2007
The SEC announced on April 5, 2011 that Wells Fargo Securities agreed to a multi-million dollar settlement of charges that one of its units, Wachovia Capital Markets (which is now a part of Wells Fargo), committed securities fraud when it sold the Zuni Indian tribe complex securities known as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) which are […]
Reverse Convertible Notes
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 […]
