On March 24th., 2014, LPL Financial was fined $950,000 for supervisory failures in the sales of alternate investments by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The deficiency in supervision is related to oil and gas partnerships, non-traded REITS, hedge funds, to name a few, and other illiquid investments. This fine is the latest in a […]

Last week LPL Financial Holdings agreed to pay $2.5 million in fines and restitution for improperly supervising brokers who sold non-traded real estate investment trusts. (Please note that LPL neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing.) These non-traded REITs are high-yielding and very popular. These non-traded REITs have jumped about 50% since 2009, to $65 billion. They […]

In an article in the Wall Street Journal, Feb. 11, 2013, Matthew Heimer writes that ever since the Federal Reserve started pushing interest rates to new lows, it’s been a common theme for retirees and other conservative investors accepting more risk to get a decent income from their portfolios. Last week LPL Financial Holdings agreed […]

On Feb. 6th., 2013, LPL Financial, LLC, was ordered by Massachusetts Security Division to pay restitution of more than $2 million to investors who bought shares of nontraded real estate investment trusts (REITs) and a $500,000 administrative fine, which involved investors who bought shares of several different nontraded REITs in violation of state limitations, and […]