The following article appeared on Ambac Financial Group, Inc.'s website. NEW YORK--Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABK) today announced the closing of 6.15% $400 million Directly-Issued Subordinated Capital Securities (DISCS(SM)). The DISCs were sold at a discount to par to yield 6.199%. The article goes on to say that Ambac will use all of the net proceeds […]

It was announced that a federal court decision in Pennsylvania has given a win for life settlement investors, deflating carriers' argument that it is permissible for an insured person to apply for a life settlement with the express intent to sell it to a third party, writes Darla Mercado in an InvestmenNews.com article from October 12, 2011. […]

  The following appeared on FINRA's website in the 'Disciplinary Actions.' Brookstone Securities, Inc. (CRD #13366, Lakeland, Florida) and David William Locy (CRD #4682865, Registered Principal, Overland Park, Kansas) the firm and Locy were censured and fined $25,000, jointly and severally. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm and Locy consented to the described sanctions […]

Two men from Houston, Texas, have been sentenced to spend more than 45 years in prison for their role in a massive life settlements fraud scheme writes Darla Mercado in an October 7, 2011, article in InvestmentNews.com. Christian Allmendinger, the co-founder and vice president of A&O Resource Management Ltd., and Adley H. Abdulwahab, a hedge fund […]

  Gary Harrison Lane has been accused of improprieties in his client's accounts. These accusations relate to the sale of government debt and or notes. Our investigation revealed that Gary Lane may have been involved in the sale of what could ultimately prove to be a ponzi scheme.   If the investigation later proves that Gary […]

Recently warnings from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) siting the dangers of leverged ETFs and inverse ETFs (exchange-traded funds). These funds are extremely complex products that carry a great deal of risk. Soreide Law Group, PLLC, has launched an investigation into these funds. It is noted that ETFs are […]

It was announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Wells notice to UBS regarding secondary market trading of closed-end funds sold in Puerto Rico in 2008 and 2009.  USB sold $2.9 billion in bonds in 2008. UBS was a former financial adviser to Puerto Rico's Employees Retirement System that provides pensions for […]

In an October 2nd, 2011, InvestmentNews.com article, Bruce Kelly writes that stockbrokers who sell products that promise high returns without the approval of their broker-dealers once again have become a leading concern for state securities regulators. This practice is known as “selling away,” and is one of the most common difficulties that independent and franchisee broker-dealers face in […]

In a September 29, 2011 article in the InvestmentNews.com, Andrew Osterland writes that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against unregistered Long Island investment adviser Corey Ribotsky for allegedly lying about the performance of his investment strategies and stealing more than $1 million from one of the hedge funds he managed. According to the […]