Author Archives: FLSecurities
State Securities Regulators Are Poised to Receive More Authority to Oversee Advisory Firms
If the Senate adopts the financial reform legislation, many investment advisory firms regulated by the SEC will be regulated by state securities regulators. Industry observers do not know of any opposition to raising the asset threshold, while concerns have been asserted about states’ ability to regulate additional advisory firms. Furthermore, the core idea of… Read More »
Understanding Equity-Indexed Annuities and Their Risks
Sales of equity-indexed annuities (EIAs) have grown recently. A confusing aspect of EIAs is the method to calculate the gain in the index linked to the annuity. The variety of methods used to credit interest make it difficult to compare EIAs. Annuities come in two types: fixed and variable. With a fixed annuity, the… Read More »
Investors Should be Wary of Broker Sales Pitches to Buy Variable Annuities
The sales efforts used by some brokerage firms to sell variable annuities merit scrutiny, particularly when elderly investors are the buyers. Hard-core sales pitches often scare or confuse investors. One such tactic is to claim that a variable annuity will protect investors from their creditors. While variable annuities may be appropriate in limited circumstances,… Read More »
SEC Halts Ponzi Scheme Preying on Retirees Attending Estate Planning Seminars
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently obtained an emergency court order shutting down a Ponzi scheme that centered on inviting retirees in California and Illinois to estate planning seminars and luring them to buy promissory notes for purported foreign investments. The SEC alleges that USA Retirement Management Services (USARMS) and its managing partners, Francois… Read More »
Provident Asset Management Expelled for Private Placements in Massive Ponzi Scheme
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has expelled Provident Asset Management, LLC, for marketing a series of fraudulent private placements offered by its affiliate, Provident Royalties, LLC, in a massive Ponzi scheme. FINRA is looking at broker-dealers’ compliance with suitability, supervision and advertising rules, as well as potential instances of fraud. The initiative was… Read More »
SEC Charges Florida Couple in $135 Million Ponzi Scheme
The SEC recently charged a prominent Miami-based business leader and his wife with fraud for conducting a $135 million Ponzi scheme with real estate investments from hundreds of elderly Cuban-American investors living in South Florida. The SEC claims that Gaston E. Cantens and Teresita Cantens, the co-owners of a real estate development company named… Read More »
First Allied Securities Settles with the SEC for $1.95 Million
First Allied Securities, Inc. recently agreed to settle for $1.95 million with the SEC where the SEC had previously charged the firm’s broker, Harold Jaschke. Supervising registered representatives is a job that must be taken seriously by broker-dealers,” said Rosalind Tyson, Director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Office. “By failing to establish reasonable systems… Read More »