Here’s a proposition: Fearful investors provide a ready market for products that sound safe, but aren’t. Exhibit A in support of that proposition? The Equity Indexed Annuity, or EIA. An EIA is an annuity, meaning it’s a contract to pay a guaranteed minimum interest rate, which is then goosed up by aligning the rate it […]
Can the SEC Beat Goldman Sachs?
Smiley Bishop & Porter LLP quoted in U.S. News & World Report on SEC’s suit against Goldman Sach’s. News that the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil suit against Goldman Sachs has sent the investment bank’s stocks reeling. But are investors overreacting?
More Firms Join Arbitration Experiment
PIABA President Brian Smiley provides comments on the proposed rule change for securities industry arbitrators. With the downturn taking its toll on investors’ portfolios, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is seeing a substantial increase in the number of complaints filed against brokers and advisers. But even as these firms are getting hit hard with arbitration, three […]
Brian Smiley Completes Successful Term as PIABA President
Brian Smiley completed his term as president of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA). With over 450 members nationally, PIABA is the only bar association dedicated to advocacy on behalf of investors who bring claims in arbitration. During Mr. Smiley’s term, PIABA initiated a number of significant reform measures to the arbitration process.
Selling Toxic Debt to Seniors
Business Week quotes Brian Smiley on toxic debt in bond funds sold to seniors. The subprime securities that created carnage on Wall Street are bringing new pain to Main Street. Regulators in five states are investigating whether Memphis brokerage Morgan Keegan failed to disclose the risks of seven mutual funds stuffed with toxic debt and […]
Arbitration Tilting More Against Investors
Bloomberg quotes Brian Smiley about ‘institutional misconduct’ on Wall Street. Let’s say you had $50,000 in auction- rate securities that your broker said were as safe as money- market funds. The market collapsed and you sold at an 80 percent haircut. At your arbitration hearing, one of the three panel members works at a firm that also […]
Brian Smiley on the Faculty of Practicing Law Institute
Brian Smiley was on the faculty of the Practicing Law Institute’s Securities Arbitration 2007 program “Arbitrators and Mediators—Winning Their Hearts and Minds” held on August 8, 2007 in New York City. His paper, “Breaking the Nest Egg: Using Traditional Theories to Handle New Cases” appears in the PLI course book.
Brian Smiley Speaks at ICLE Seminar
Brian Smiley spoke before the prestigious Annual Securities Litigation & Regulatory Practice seminar conducted by the ICLE. His topic was, “Arbitration Against Stockbrokers: The Machinist and the Millionaire.” His paper involved claims against investment professionals for failing to adequately diversify client portfolios.
Brian Smiley Speaks on Arbitration and Variable Annuities at NASAA and NAIC Seminar
Brian Smiley spoke before a joint training seminar conducted by state securities (NASAA) and insurance regulators (NAIC). Mr. Smiley’s topics included “Insurance and Securities Anticipated Scams” and “What Every Regulator Needs to Know About NASD Arbitration.”
Client Wins First Round Against Brokerage
Atlanta Business Chronicle reports on a punitive damage award for a factory worker. The arbitration panel that heard the first of about 75 cases against the Augusta office of the brokerage firm A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. has awarded the former client in the case nearly $1 million.
