The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says that former World Group Securities representative David Olson was named in a customer complaint filed in October 2008. The customer claims Olson persuaded him to buy real estate, which was leased back to the representative. The customer alleges that Olson agreed to pay the…
Merrill Lynch & Co. is confirming that Branch Manager Joseph Mattia no longer works for the investment firm’s global wealth-management group. Mattia supervised 200 financial advisors in Merrill Lynch’s 5th Avenue office. A spokesperson for Merrill Lynch refused to provide details. CNN reports that Mattia left the firm. Investment News,…
A few weeks ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission formally proposed a road map that could result in the mandatory adoption of international financial reporting standards by US domestic financial report filers. For the largest filers, this could start as soon as 2014. Beginning November 14, the SEC has opened…
Variable annuities that guarantee “living benefits” could end up costing insurers a lot more than what they charge for them and may result in falling stock prices. These variable annuities come with a GMWB (guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit). An investor’s money is placed in various mutual fund-like “sub-accounts” in return…
In a unanimous vote, the Securities and Exchange Commission agreed to adopt rule amendments to improve mutual fund disclosures. This includes letting investors receive a summary prospectus written in simple English. The SEC also adopted revisions to the mutual funds’ registration form known as form N-1A, including amendments that let…
This month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision granting class action plaintiffs another opportunity to make their securities fraud claims against Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. The district court had previously dismissed the class action lawsuit as untimely under the 1934 Securities Exchange Act.…
US Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) has introduced a new bill to regulate investment-bank holding companies, credit default swaps, and other financial instruments that state and federal regulators have yet to regulate. Collins says the bill, called the Financial Regulation Reform Act of 2008, seeks to restore public faith in the…
Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin is charging Oppenheimer & Co. with unethical conduct and fraud. The state’s top securities regulator is accusing the investment bank of continuing to market and sell auction rate securities to clients even as Oppenheimer executives were getting rid of their own ARS holdings, worth…
The North American Securities Administrators Association is reminding investors to ask the investment firms that sold them any now-frozen auction-rate securities about repurchase opportunities. Following the ARS market collapse, securities regulators in 12 US states joined together to form a multi-state Task Force dedicated to finding out whether Wall Street…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. says it is fining Citigroup Global Markets Inc. $300,000 for its failure to reasonably supervise the commissions that clients were charged for stock and options trades. Citigroup Global Markets is Citigroup Inc’s brokerage and securities arm. FINRA says that between April 2002 and January…