While neither admitting or denying the charges by NASD, AllianceBernstein Investments Inc. of New York, Scudder Distributors Inc. of Chicago, and Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership of Boston says they will collectively pay $700,000 to settle allegations that they violated the NASD’s non-cash compensation rules. Charges included the accusations that…
On February 15, the NASD announced that it was charging two former prudential brokers with helping a hedge fund manager to time the market through variable annuities. The former broker’s supervisor was also charged with failure to properly supervise them. Both brokers were registered with Prudential Securities Inc., now called…
Bear Stearns Securities Corp. is being ordered to pay over $125 million to a bankruptcy trustee because of Manhattan Investment Fund, a collapsed hedge fund used by hedge fund principal Michael Berger to run a large scale fraudulent investment scam. The ruling was issued on February 15 by the U.S.…
Apparently unscathed by scandals at his former firms, 67 year old George Ball serves as Chairman of Sanders Morris Harris Group, Inc., a Houston based investment bank and wealth management firm. Ball served as the No. 2 executive at E.F. Hutton & Co. Inc. from 1980 to 1982. Three years…
The international financial services firm of Morgan Stanley and French luxury goods leader LVMH announced an out-of-court settlement of a lengthy legal dispute over allegations that Morgan Stanley issued financial analysis reports which were biased against LVMH. The settlement, with terms not disclosed, ends nearly five years of legal proceedings…
A recent investigation by the Senate regarding the handling of Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack in regards to an insider trading investigation sheds light on why regulators are never able to “nail” senior level executives at major securities firms. Former SEC attorney Gary Aguirre alleges that he was let go…
The SEC is considering whether to change a rule that could require brokers to reveal whether they have “shelf-space” programs, which treats certain fund companies preferentially in exchange for payment by the fund. Its first point-of-sale disclosure rule had pushed for brokerage firms to reveal the actual amount that they…
NASD says that it is fining Raymond James Financial Services $2.75 million for not adequately supervising more than 1,000 producing sales managers across the U.S between 2002 to 2004. NASD also permanently barred one of RJFS’s branch managers, Donna Vogt, for making unsuitable recommendations to retirement age and elderly customers…
Securities and Exchange Committee Chairman Christopher Cox could lose the confidence of investors, and quite possibly, Congress, if he and the other appointed commissioners continue to pursue their chosen path of action. The SEC has taken steps to reduce the chances of lawsuits being filed against auditing firms, corporations, and…
Financial management and advisory company Merrill Lynch has settled three class action lawsuits involving 400 investors who claim that the company gave them misleading analyst information regarding Internet companies. The investors are buyers of mutual funds, and they will get about $40 million-6.25% of the original $645 million they had…