Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. arbitrator Alvin Green is ordering David Lerner Associates Inc. to pay claimants Florence Hechtel and Joseph Graziose $24,450 for the Apple REITs that they bought from the firm. They will get the money after returning the Apple REIT 9 shares to the company. The Apple…
Articles Posted in REITs
REIT Retail Properties of America’s $8 Public Offering Results in Major Losses for Fund Investors
Many investors of Retail Properties of America, Inc. (RPAI) suffered huge losses after the real estate investment trust’s IPO opened with an $8 offering price. Formerly known as Inland Western REIT, Retail Properties not only made its public debut at an offering price below the expected $10-$12 pre-offering price, but…
Private REITs: The Need for Tougher Oversight?
Our institutional investment fraud lawyers have reported often on real estate investment trusts (REITs). Today we’d like to talk about private REITs. An REIT is a trust, corporation, or association that owns income-producing real estate. Investors’ capital is pooled by REITs to buy a portfolio of properties. There are public…
Investor Complains to FINRA About Behringer Harvard Holdings, LLC-Related Real Estate Investment Losses
According to Investment News, an investor has written to FINRA to express her concerns about Behringer Harvard Holdings, LLC. D. Gayle Salyer says that within six years, the $50,000 that she invested in a real estate fund with them has decreased by $48,000. She has also written to the Texas…
Wells Investment Securities Agrees to $300,000 Fine by FINRA for Alleged Use of Misleading Marketing Materials for REIT Offerings
To settle FINRA accusations that it used misleading marketing materials when selling Wells Timberland REIT, Inc., Wells Investment Securities, Inc. has agreed to pay a $300,000 fine, as well as to an entry of the findings. However, it is not denying or admitting to the securities charges. FINRA claims that…
David Lerner & Associates Ignored Suitability of REITs When Recommending to Investors, Claims FINRA
FINRA has filed securities charges against David Lerner & Associates, Inc. accusing the broker-dealer of not taking into account suitability when soliciting vulnerable investors-in particular, elderly clients, to buy shares in the non-traded, $2B Apple REIT Ten offering. The SRO is also accusing the broker-dealer of posting misleading information online…
Ameriprise Must Pay $17 Million for REIT Fraud
The US Securities and Exchange Commission says Ameriprise Financial Services has consented to pay $17.3 million to settle allegations that it received millions of dollars in undisclosed compensation in exchange for selling certain REITs (real estate investment trusts) to its brokerage customers. The SEC says Ameriprise demanded and got “revenue…
W.P. Carey & Co Settles SEC Charges Over Payments of Undisclosed REIT Compensation
REIT Manager W.P. Carey & Co has reached a $30M settlement agreement with the SEC over antifraud charges. According to the SEC, W.P. Carey, its ex-CFO John J. Park, and its former chief accounting officer Claude Fernandez paid $10 million in undisclosed compensation to a brokerage firm that sold real…
For Investors, REIT’s Go Global
REIT Investors around the world can now take advantage of a global property boom in commercial real estate. Whereas several years ago, only six other nations, including the United States, allowed investors to invest in real estate investment trusts, there are now nearly 24 countries that either have established REITs…