Blog

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

Displaying 11-20 out of 21 results for "ERS".

This is Why Merrill Lynch Paid the SEC and FINRA $15 million over Bank of America's VOL Index-linked Structured Products.

(Jun 2016)

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday announced a settlement with Merrill Lynch over structured products linked to Bank of America's proprietary investable volatility index based on VIX Future contracts ("VOL Index"). The SEC press release announcing the settlement and its Order Instituting Proceedings are available on the SEC website. The companion FINRA settlement press releaseand AWC are available on the FINRA website. Bank of America published its VOL Index in 2010 and shortly...

AdvisorHub, June 20, 2016 - "Spy Novelist Who Claimed Deception by Morgan Stanley Wins $3.6 Million"

(Jun 2016)

Mason Braswell's "Spy Novelist Who Claimed Deception by Morgan Stanley Wins $3.6 Million" reports on the financial harm an investor incurred when his broker overstated the value of his investments over a three-year period. Dr. O'Neal testified on liability and damages for the Claimant.

A Bad Broker Found His Firm; You Should Avoid Them Both

(Jun 2016)

In June 2016, a FINRA panel in Albuquerque, NM ordered Centaurus Financial, Inc. to pay the Claimant, a recent widow when the subject conduct began, $150,000 plus all hearing fees after reasoned findings that "the investments Hashemian recommended while at Centaurus were not suitable", that Centaurus was responsible for Hashemian's actions which "constituted fraudulent and negligently made misrepresentation and omitted material information in the sale of investments" and that "Centaurus...

Smaller Brokerage Firms Are Even Worse!

(May 2016)

Last week we posted Have 1.3% or 7.3% of Stock Brokers Engaged in Misconduct? explaining that the competing estimates of broker misconduct differ because of differences in their definition of misconduct and the sample of brokers studied.

Firms with 400 to 999 Brokers Are Much Worse Than Larger Firms.

In last week's post, we listed the 100 highest risk brokerage firms with 400 or more registered brokers sorted by the percentage of their brokers associated with Investor Harm Events as of...

Investors Lose Over $7 Billion in SandRidge Energy Stock and Notes

(May 2016)

In recent months, investors have lost billions of dollars as a result of their investments in SandRidge Energy, Inc. stock, notes and bonds. Sandridge is involved in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas in the continental United States with some interests in the Gulf of Mexico.

SandRidge's stock price has lost 99% of its value since 2014, erasing more than $4 billion of market capitalization. In addition to near complete losses to SandRidge stockholders, investors have lost...

Have 1.3% or 7.3% of Stock Brokers Engaged in Misconduct?

(May 2016)

In our recent working paper How Widespread and Predictable is Stock Broker Misconduct? we reconcile estimates of misconduct, demonstrate that broker misconduct is predictable and explain that ostensibly publicly available BrokerCheck data could be used to help investors avoid bad brokers and bad brokerage firms if only it were made truly public instead of only speciously so.

Jason Zweig's recent column in the Wall Street Journal Is Your Broker Good or Bad? discussed our research problem. In...

How Widespread and Predictable is Stock Broker Misconduct?

(Apr 2016)

In this paper we reconcile widely diverging recent estimates of broker misconduct. Qureshi and Sokobin report that 1.3% of current and past brokers are associated with awards or settlements in excess of a threshold amount. Egan, Matvos, and Seru find that 7.8% of current and former brokers have financial misconduct disclosures including customer complaints, awards, and settlements.

You can download our research paper, "How Widespread and Predictable is Stock Broker Misconduct?".

We...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - April 1st, 2016

(Apr 2016)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

Securities Professional Charged With Defrauding Institutional Investors
March 28, 2016 (Litigation Release No. 58)
The SEC has charged Andrew W.W. Caspersen for embezzling approximately $95 million from two institutions. Caspersen deceived and offered promissory notes issued by Irving Place II SPV LLC, a name deceptively similar to a legitimate private equity fund Irving Place Capital Partners III SPV that is in no way associated with Caspersen. The U.S. Attorney's...

Enforcement Actions: Week in Review - March 18th, 2016

(Mar 2016)

SEC ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

SEC Approves 2016 PCAOB Budget and Accounting Support Fee
March 14, 2016 (Litigation Release No. 51)
The SEC approved the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) annual budget and accounting support fee for 2016 which is a task that SEC is required to do annually according to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was established in efforts of the SEC to oversee and approve the PCAOB's accounting support fee and budget which funds its...

Ohio Division of Securities, In the Matter of Timothy K. Fife - Ohio IA Registration to be Revoked

(Feb 2016)

In February 2016, after evidentiary hearings, the Hearing Examiner recommended that Timothy Fife's investment adviser representative registration be revoked. The Report and Recommendation is available on our website. Fife's registration is being revoked because he provided investment advice and initiated securities transactions while not licensed in Ohio and because he recommended the unsuitable purchase and holding for extended periods of time of leveraged and inverse ETFs. Dr. McCann ...

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