[Post updated March 2021] When this post was first written in 2011, Ameriprise had just released its annual report, which showed its securities broker dealer subsidiary, Securities America, was hemorrhaging cash. Securities America’s capital had dropped by a whopping 86% in just one year as the company defended itself against investor lawsuits. The company’s actual […]
Baby Boomers Wearing Bulls Eyes
If the figures coming from the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) are correct, the number of fraud actions involving victims over the age of 50 is staggering. We don’t have 2020 data yet and with COVID, we expect 2020 will be another record breaking year for fraudsters. Sadly, regulatory agencies only have enough resources […]
Wells Fargo Pays Millions To Settle Elder Fraud Allegations
Wells Fargo Advisors has repeatedly been caught pushing unsuitable investments on their clients. One would think that after all the scandals that have engulfed the beleaguered bank, senior management would start taking their customers more seriously. Our first post on Wells Fargo selling unsuitable investments was in 2011. It’s now 2021 and we are still […]
JPMorgan Securities Fined for Unsuitable Investments, Misconduct
JP Morgan Securities – Big Doesn’t Mean Better JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States and the 7th largest in the world. With assets of $2.86 trillion, it certainly is big. It also claims to be one of the oldest financial institutions in the country. But that doesn’t mean its brokerage arm […]
Can David Lerner Associates Survive?
My first encounter with David Lerner Associates came in July 2011. That month I spoke with a pleasant woman who had invested heavily with a David Lerner Associates broker in an Apple REIT (real estate investment trust). She was calling for advice on whether she accept their offer to buy back her REIT investment. “At […]
SEC Slams Ex LPL Broker for Elder Financial Abuse
A stockbroker who delivers medication to a terminal cancer patient in a snowstorm… sounds like a great guy, right? In most situations it would be wonderful. In this case, the man wearing the hero’s disguise was nothing more than a common thief and villain. Last week the SEC obtained a $1.8 million judgment against former […]
States Crack Down on Investment Fraud
There is an old adage that says, “The grass is always greener on the other side.” Don’t tell that to the thousands of investment advisers who switched from SEC regulation to state regulation. The Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act allowed investment advisers with assets under management between $30 million and $100 […]
Senator to SEC: Strengthen Stockbroker Fraud Rules
Following a recent expose in the Wall Street Journal, Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey called on the Securities & Exchange Commission to strengthen FINRA’s ability to fight stockbroker fraud. (FINRA is the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a self regulatory organization that derives its enforcement powers from the SEC.) The Journal reported that over 5000 stockbrokers are […]
Is Bambi Holzer A Fraud? Some People Think So
Bambi Holzer – investment adviser to celebrities and prolific author of books on money and investing. In 2007, she published “Financial Bliss.” According to one review, the book is a valuable “guide that helps couples solve money problems and create a life plan.” Dozens of former clients have a different opinion; they think she almost […]
Investment Fraud Roundup – September 2013
This post summarizes recent enforcement actions against stockbrokers. You may be able to recover your money if you suffered losses as a result of investment fraud, unregistered offerings of securities, excessive trades, unauthorized trades, bad investment advice (suitability rules), or broker misconduct. Kevin Cline, Robert Burr, Vincent Christopher & Thomas Gilleland – Source Capital Group Kevin […]
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