In an InvestmentNews.com article by Bruce Kelly, April 1, 2012, he writes that shortly after Susan Fox bought a nontraded real estate investment trust for her IRA, the REIT started to show quarterly losses. But when she met with her broker to discuss her concern, he sold her a second nontraded REIT. Kelly writes that […]

In a February 29, 2012, article from BrowardBulldog.org, Ann Henson Feltgen writes that a Broward County probate judge has nipped an alleged attempt to redirect a $3 million inheritance intended to care for four beloved show dogs following their owner’s death. Judge Mark Speiser threw out financial advisor Charles E. Bishop’s claim as inheritor of the estate […]

In an April 2nd., 2012, article on ThinkProgress.com, Travis Waldon writes that former Goldman Sachs trader Greg Smith publicly resigned three weeks ago, decrying the firm’s “toxic and destructive" culture in a scathing New York Times editorial. But it isn’t just traders at America’s biggest investment bank that view their clients as “muppets,” at least […]

THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WAS OBTAINED FROM THE SEC'S WEBSITE: "On March 1, 2012, a federal judge ordered the former CEO of Brookstreet Securities Corp. to pay a maximum $10 million penalty in a securities fraud case related to the financial crisis. In December of 2009, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil injunctive […]

The financial industry has been anticipating this time in history ever since the Baby Boom generation began. There are more people who will be turning more money over to stockbrokers than at any other time in history.  We have watched the abuse investors have taken. Take for example, the investors in Worldcom or Enron. They soon learned that things are […]

The following information was obtained on FINRA’s website’s ‘Disciplinary Actions, February 2012.”   Neal Seth Smalbach (CRD #1459854, Registered Principal, Palm Harbor, Florida)   submitted an Offer of Settlement in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity.   Without admitting or denying the allegations, Smalbach consented to the described […]

The following information was obtained on FINRA’s website’s ‘Disciplinary Actions, January 2012.”   Andrew James Aragona (CRD #1320844, Registered Representative, Deerfield Beach, Florida)   was named as a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that he recommended variable annuity switches to an elderly customer who had a moderate risk tolerance and a primary investment objective […]

In a February 17th., 2012, article for InvestmentNews.com, Bruce Kelly writes that a broker formally affiliated with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Berthel Fisher & Co. Financial Services Inc. and LPL Financial LLC was arrested in Oregon this month for allegedly stealing $584,000 from three investors. The now ex-broker, James Scott McKee, was charged Feb. 9 […]

In a February 14th., 2012, article in InvestmentNews.com, Bruce Kelly writes that LPL Financial, LLC, is on the hook for a $1.4 million arbitration awarded to an elderly couple who bought real estate deals. According to the attorney for the plaintiffs, the property investments relied on “tricks” to boost their yields before they collapsed. Heinrich […]