The following information was obtained on FINRA’s website’s ‘Disciplinary Actions, February 2012.”   Charles Rainsford Marks Jr. (CRD #4727907, Registered Representative, South Jacksonville, Florida)   submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $5,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for 10 business days. The […]

In a February 16th., 2012, article in InvestmentNews.com, Jason Kephart writes that John Bogle, founder of The Vanguard Group Inc., believes low-cost, passive indexes are the best way to invest — as long as they're not offered through an exchange-traded fund. “There's no question that ETFs are the greatest trading innovation of the 21st century,” […]

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 […]

The following information was obtained on FINRA’s website’s ‘Disciplinary Actions, January 2012.”   Tyge Thomas Tuccillo (CRD #3075541, Registered Representative, Venice, Florida)   submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Tuccillo consented to the […]

The following information was obtained on FINRA’s website’s ‘Disciplinary Actions, January 2012.”   Joseph James Sciarra Jr. (CRD #1576322, Registered Principal, Wellington, Florida)   was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity and ordered to pay $393,935, plus interest, in restitution to a customer’s estate. The sanctions were based on findings that […]

In an article for InvestmentNews.com, on February 1st, 2012, Mark Schoeff Jr. writes that in a market defined by low interest rates, investors are searching for higher returns. But brokers better be careful how they try to deliver those results, according to their primary regulator. In a 16 page letter posted on its website, the Financial Industry […]

The following information is excerpts from the article on the FINRA website.  The fact that a product is “complex” indicates that it presents an additional risk to retail investors because its complexity adds a further dimension to the investment decision process beyond the fundamentals of market forces. This may be the case even though the complexity […]

Investors in the Behringer Harvard Short-Term Opportunity Fund I LP, which had about $130 million in total assets, saw its valuation drop to approximately .40 cents a share, down drastically from aproximately $6.48 a share.   Behringer Harvard still hasn’t explained what happened to wipe almost all of the fund's value.   The Securities and […]