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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 […]
The economy of Greece is teetering, and its government is working feverishly to avoid a full-scale implosion. On Monday night, Greece’s government submitted a list of awaited reform proposals that its partners in Europe, namely Germany, had demanded in exchange for continuing to fund the country for another few months, […]
As Wall Street profits get squeezed from engaging in less risky activity, they are making up the revenue by upping the fees for their clients. Because of new industry rules put into place after the financial crisis, big Wall Street banks can no longer run their own hedge funds or […]
Following the financial crisis, Congress passed Dodd-Frank. The legislation authorized the Securities Exchange Commission to enact rules for a “fiduciary duty standard” in which stock brokers, at firms like Merrill Lynch and UBS, would be required to put the customer’s interest first. This fiduciary standard stands in sharp contrast with […]
Puerto Rico’s debt is becoming overwhelming to service. A restructuring appears to be inevitable and this will spell disaster for Mom and Pop investors who own the Commonwealth’s bonds. There are pervasive fears across the municipal bond market that a wide array of Puerto Rico bonds could be restructured in […]
Investors looking for calm waters in 2015 will have to give up that New Year’s wish. Two so called “black swans” are officially on the pond and shaking markets. One is the Swiss franc’s abrupt move last week; the other is the ongoing collapse of oil prices. Remember, black swans […]
Wall Street and its high-priced lobbyists are doing a full-scale beat down on Dodd-Frank. Following the Republican victory in the mid-term elections and a presidential election in 2016, Wall Street believes that it can take its best shot to gut investor protection as the Republican majority in Congress pushes its […]
Ordinary retail investors, the Moms and Pops of the world, saw mixed results in 2014, with stocks erupting in volatility over specific news events such as the Ebola outbreak. And this year is already off to a bumpy, volatile start. The Dow dropped 1.9% on Monday as financial markets plunged […]