As it's prepares to go private with a sale to private-equity buyers, insurance broker and benefits roll-up firm National Financial Partners Corp. is facing hurdles created by its independent broker-dealer, NFP Advisor Services Group, writes Bruce Kelly in a recent article in InvestmentNews. There is a problem with the potential costly legal fallout from NFP […]

FINRA recently issued a notice providing guidance to its members on communications with the public regarding unlisted real estate investment programs, (REITs) and real estate direct participation programs. Disclosure: Firm communications containing descriptions of a real estate program must be consistent with the program’s current prospectus and must not imply an investment in the program […]

On Monday, Mark Ellison, 64, and David Swenson, 35, both of Boise, Idaho, and founders of DBSI; and Jeremy Swenson, 40, of Meridian, Idaho, appeared in United States District Court in Boise, and entered not guilty pleas on charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, and interstate transportation of stolen property […]

William Galvin, the secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, today announced settlements with five leading independent broker/dealers to make $8.6 million in restitution to investors and pay fines totaling $975,000 for the sales of nontraded real estate investment trusts (REITs). These five firms are: Ameriprise Financial Services Inc., with $2.6 million in restitution and a […]

FINRA continues to crack down on sales of alternative investments. Earlier this week, FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. fined VSR Financial Services Inc., a midsize broker-dealer known for selling alternative investments, $550,000, and imposed a $10,000 fine and 45-day suspension of VSR's chairman, Don Beary. FINRA alleged that from 2005 to 2010, VSR […]

Florida's statute of limitations can apply not only to court proceedings, but to securities arbitration cases between investors and their brokers, the Florida Supreme Court ruled recently. The ruling, in favor of Raymond James Financial Services Inc , could in Florida, empower securities arbitrators to cut the time investors have to file a complaint with […]

The SEC and FINRA issued a joint alert on May 9, 2012, warning investors about the risks involved in selling or buying rights to pension or settlement income streams via products like pension loans, structured settlements or secondary-market annuities. The alert is titled, "Pension or Settlement Income Streams—What You Need to Know Before Buying or […]

With mounting pressure from regulators, broker/dealers are making changes to how they sell alternative investments. VSR Financial Services Inc., Berthel Fisher & Co. Financial Services Inc. and the Cetera Financial Group Inc., which has four independent-contractor broker-dealers under its umbrella, this year have revised policies or added new guidelines and procedures for the sale of […]

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has ordered Goldman Sachs & Co. to pay approximately $2.5 million to Tracy Landow, a client who said she was sold an inappropriate investment in a private-equity fund. Ms. Landow accused Goldman Sachs and her broker of making an unsuitable recommendation in the Goldman Sachs Special Opportunities […]