The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) has recently hired Robert Colby, a former high-ranking SEC official, as the regulator’s top lawyer. Mr. Colby is a partner in the Washington office of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, and will join FINRA on June 18th. as the new chief legal officer. Grant Callery, current Finra general counsel, […]

The municipal bond market is nowhere near as bad as it was few years ago. That doesn't mean the muni market is free of risks and challenges for financial advisers building bond portfolios for clients writes Jeff Benjamin in a May, 2012, article from InvestmentNews.com. George Friedlander, managing director and chief municipal strategist with Citi Investment […]

Soreide Law Group, PLLC,  has been contacted recently by several clients that have complained of a high level of trading activity by Vision Financial Markets.Vision Financial Markets, a futures commission merchant (FCM) and introducing broker (IB), is registered with the NFA. Vision Financial Markets  is a Futures Commission Merchant and Commodity Pool Operator with headquarters in […]

On May 29th., 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a Miami-based hedge fund adviser for deceiving investors about whether its executives had personally invested in a Latin America-focused hedge fund. According to the SEC’s investigation, they found that Quantek Asset Management LLC made misrepresentations about fund managers having “skin in the game” along with investors in the $1 […]

A group of retirees ambushed financial advisor James Amburn, 56, outside his home in Speyer, Germany. The group attacked him and put him into the trunk of a car. "It took them quite a while because they ran out of breath," said Amburn, who was then driven to one of their homes where he was held prisoner. They were angry because Amburn had […]

Soreide Law Group, PLLC, and Securities Attorney Lars K. Soreide, are investigating James J. Albright, Jr., and Sagepoint Financial, Inc., previously known as AIG Financial Advisers, of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The alleged claims are based on Albright’s recommendations to his clients to purchase unsuitable, risky and illiquid non-traded real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). Due to the result of Albright’s alleged sales practices, his […]

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) published a news release on their website, May 22, 2012, announcing that it has fined Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. $3.5 million.  This fine was for 'providing inaccurate mortgage performance information, supervisory failures and other violations in connection with subprime residential mortgage-backed securitizations (RMBS).' FINRA notes in their article that the issuers of RMBS […]

In a May 24th, 2012, article from Ft. Lauderdale's Sun-Sentinel, Jon Burstein writes that an investment adviser from Ft. Lauderdale, and others, exploited trust and friendships within the Ft. Lauderdale gay community of Wilton Manors to help fuel a multimillion-dollar investment fraud, according a lawsuit brought this week by a group of investors. There were fourteen residents of […]

Many of our clients ask about FINRA's BrokerCheck.  Located on FINRA's website, finra.org, BrokerCheck is defined by FINRA as "a free tool to help investors research the professional backgrounds of current and former FINRA-registered brokerage firms and brokers, as well as investment adviser firms and representatives. It should be the first resource investors turn to […]