Blog

Our experts frequently write blog posts about the findings of the research we are conducting.

Displaying 11-20 out of 59 results

Another Example of Apparent Marking-the-Close

(Mar 2024)

By Craig McCann and Mike Yan

You can download a PDF of this article to print or email here

Introduction

We recently posted research into stock issuances solely underwritten by Aegis Capital. We concluded that investors, including many Aegis' retail customers, suffered $3.0 billion to $5 billion in losses in recent years as a result of Aegis' conduct. You can view that post here.

We also concluded that in at least three instances either Aegis marked the close or looked the...

Aegis Capital is Farm-to-Table Securities Fraud Purveyor, Harming Investors at Least $5 Billion!

(Mar 2024)

By Craig McCann and Mike Yan

You can download a PDF copy of this post to print or email here.

You can download an Excel file containing some of our analysis of Aegis' sole underwritten offerings here.

Introduction

Aegis Capital is one of the worst few retail brokerage firms based on complaints and investors should avoid it at all costs. You can see our recent post on bad brokerage firms here 2024 Brokerage Firm Risk Rankings

In addition to its retail brokerage business,...

2024 Brokerage Firm Risk Rankings

(Feb 2024)

By Craig McCann, Chuan Qin and Mike Yan

We previously published two papers ranking brokerage firms based on the complaint history associated with their current brokers and the complaints associated with brokers who they employed at the time of the conduct being complained about, wherever those brokers are currently employed.

We recently updated our analysis of complaints against brokerage firms and found that our earlier results were extremely useful for identifying brokerage firms likely...

Howard Capital Management Funds Charge High Fees to Misuse Leveraged ETFs

(Jan 2024)

By Craig McCann and Susan Song

You can download a copy of this note to print or email here.

Introduction

Howard Capital Management ("HCM") is a SEC-registered RIA based in Roswell, GA.[1] In addition to advising individual accounts, it manages mutual funds and ETFs. It claims to use proprietary technical analysis, HCM-BuyLine(R), to market-time the funds' asset allocations.

Without any risk disclosure, HCM's mutual funds buy and hold leveraged ETFs for much longer periods than is...

Walton Land Fund 3, LP: Laundering Fees and Fleecing Investors

(Jan 2024)

By Craig McCann and Regina Meng

You can download a pdf of this article to print or email here.

Introduction

We recently published an extensive study of the unregistered Reg D securities markets:

"Regulation D Offerings: Issuers, Investors and Intermediaries", Craig McCann, Chuan Qin and Mike Yan, 2023 working paper, available at www.slcg.com/files/research-papers/Reg_D_Offering.pdf.

It is hard to assess investor returns in the Reg D marketplace because there are no publicly...

L Bond Were Always Impaired

(Nov 2023)

By Craig McCann and Regina Meng

You can download a pdf of this article to print or email here.

Introduction

GWG bonds were always impaired. GWG was able to sell impaired bonds for 10 years because its equity float was too small to be covered by Wall Street analysts, its stock was too thinly traded to short sell and third tier brokerage firms looked the other way in exchange for extraordinary sales commissions.

In "GWG's Decade-long Fraud Started Well Before Beneficient Joined In" we...

GWG's Decade-Long Fraud Started Well Before Beneficient Joined In

(Aug 2023)

By Craig McCann and Regina Meng.

Three Wall Street Journal stories describe alleged diversion of assets at GWG/Beneficient in 2019 and later to entities controlled by its CEO.[1] The WSJ stories mention an SEC investigation into accounting practices at GWG/Beneficient focused on the treatment of intra-company transactions and the calculation of comical "goodwill" Beneficient put on its books as it combined with GWG. In addition to these post 2018 issues, GWG's use of demonstrably unreliable...

Beneficient's Trading is Bad Omen for GWG Bondholder Recoveries

(Jun 2023)

By Craig McCann and Regina Meng.

We have found so many red flags in GWG Holdings' public filings years before its bankruptcy filing in 2022 that no unconflicted broker would have recommended GWG's L Bonds and no fully informed investor would have bought them. Nonetheless, $1.3 billion face value of L Bonds remained outstanding at the time of the bankruptcy. These bonds were sold by third tier brokerage firms in pursuit of undisclosed commissions as high as 8%.

We will tell a more...

Blackstone is Watching Us and Just Admitted a Major Misrepresentation

(May 2023)

By Craig McCann and Regina Meng

You can download a pdf of this article to print or email here.

BREIT this week eliminated a prominent marketing graphic touting inflated after-tax yields and tax-equivalent yields after we pointed out that it was false and misleading.

In December 2022 we predicted a run on BREIT and then in April 2023 we identified 7 major areas in which we believe Blackstone and BREIT have been misleading investors.

Blackstone's Choice: Let BREIT Crash or...

Blackstone Fiddles as BREIT Burns

(Apr 2023)

By Craig McCann and Regina Meng.

You can download a pdf of this article to print or email here.

Introduction

In December, we argued that Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust ("BREIT") smoothed and inflated its reported returns for years, leading to large investor inflows. [1] We predicted that a run on the bank had started because of Blackstone's prior conduct, leaving it with two very bad options. BREIT could honor redemption requests at posted NAVs and see its NAV cut in half as the NAV...

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