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As investors in the stock market, we are told to be prepared to experience losses from time to time. Brokers cannot predict the future, and with diversification comes the expectation that overall gains will exceed overall losses over the long haul. With these thoughts in mind, it can often be […]
Financial advisors have been pushing complex investment products to their yield-starved retail investors. Such opaque and complex products have names like structured products, equity-indexed annuities, leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds and alternative mutual funds. Notice the abundance of hyphens in such investments. Maybe a good rule of thumb for Mom […]
When you hire a stock broker, you expect them to act with your best interests in mind. Yet, while most people would expect this obligation – and a general sense of morality – to be enough to prevent stock broker misconduct, sadly, this is not always the case. While investors […]
Following the 2008 financial crisis, Congress passed a set of laws, Dodd-Frank, which gave federal regulators broader powers to establish rules and regulations to prevent Wall Street from causing another financial meltdown. Among the issues which Dodd Frank supposedly addressed was the de-leveraging of banks and the reduction or elimination […]
Stock fraud takes many forms and is not always easy to identify. However, as a general rule, if you have suffered a loss of a substantial portion of your portfolio, it is time to start asking questions. With a properly-managed account, large losses should only occur in the rarest of […]
If Puerto Rico bonds were a runaway train in some Hollywood thriller, by now they definitely would be heading straight for a collision. First, Fitch Ratings, one of the key bond ratings agencies, cut its rating on Puerto Rico two notches deeper into junk territory near the end of March, […]
When choosing the person who will be responsible for protecting and growing the money you have spent a lifetime accumulating, it goes without saying that it needs to be someone you can trust. There are plenty of experienced, savvy and reliable stock brokers to choose from. But, steering clear of […]
An advisory committee for the Securities and Exchange Commission now wants to expand the pool of “accredited” investors to allow more people to get into high risk private investments. It’s a move that could help Wall Street banks boost profits at the expense of investors. Wealthy investors become accredited when […]
President Obama recently offered a proposal that would raise investment advice standards for brokers working with retirement accounts. The President directed the Department of Labor – DOL – to move ahead with a rule that would extend the definition of “fiduciary” to more advisers of 401(k) and individual retirement accounts. […]
It’s not often that federal and state securities regulators are on opposite sides of an issue regarding investor protection. But that’s the case with regards to the Securities and Exchange Commission proceedings which will decide whether to approve or strike down a FINRA plan to revamp its regulation of equity […]