In a November 16th., 2011, Sun-Sentinnel article, Donna Gehrke-White writes that a Ft. Lauderdale brokerage was fined $20,000, a Plantation broker was suspended for two years and a Coral Springs man was barred from working with any brokerage, according to November's report on disciplinary action taken by FINRA, the private regulatory agency that oversee securities companies. Newbridge […]

Raymond James & Associates, Inc. (CRD #705, St. Petersburg, Florida)   submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which the firm was censured, fined $12,500 and ordered to pay $1,849.33, plus interest, in restitution to investors.   Also, without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the described sanctions and to […]

Brookstone Securities, Inc. (CRD® #13366, Lakeland, Florida), David William Locy (CRD #4682865, Registered Principal, Overland Park, Kansas), Mark Mather Mercier (CRD #1884246, Registered Principal, Lutz, Florida) and Antony Lee Turbeville (CRD #1721014, Registered Principal, Lakeland, Florida) submitted Offers of Settlement in which the firm was censured and fined $200,000; Locy was fined $10,000 and suspended […]

Dale David Twardowski (CRD #4056379, 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, Twardowski consented to the described sanction and to the entry of findings that he failed to respond to FINRA requests […]

In an article for InvestmentNews.com, November 9th., 2011, Mark Schoeff Jr. writes that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) engaged in an unprecedented crackdown on investment advisers over the last year, contributing to an overall surge in agency enforcement. The SEC announced that it filed 146 enforcement actions against investment advisers and investment companies during the […]

Soreide Law Group, PLLC, has announced it's investigation into the Goldman Sachs Global Alpha Fund which was recently closed.  According a New York Times article, Global Alpha was started in 1995 with just $10 million. Over time the results soared. At its peak in 2007, Global Alpha ran about $12 billion, although that number had dwindled to about […]

The following are excerpts from Richard G. Ketchum, Chairman and CEO of FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Research Center on the Prevention of Financial Fraud in Washington, DC, Thursday, November 3, 2011. "We bring together policymakers, researchers, practitioners, law enforcement and others to discuss how we can better share […]

The following appeared on FINRA's website in 'Disciplinary Actions, October, 2011.' TD Ameritrade, Inc. (CRD #7870, Bellevue, Nebraska)  submitted a Letter of AcceptanceWaiver and Consent in which the firm was censured and fined $100,000 by FINRA. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings […]

In a Bloomberg News article from October 25, 2011, we learn that UBS AG, Switzerland’s largest bank, will pay $12 million to resolve Financial Industry Regulatory Authority claims that a brokerage unit allowed millions of short-sale orders to be placed without reasonable grounds to believe that the securities could be delivered. The article points out […]