Blog

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

Displaying 10 out of 236 results for "Principal Protected Notes".

Blackstone Yesterday Resurrected a BREIT Misrepresentation We Had Killed Off

(May 2025)

By Craig McCann and Regina Meng

Introduction

Each month we review BREIT's Performance webpage to see what NAV it claims for the prior month end. After two years' absence, a grossly misleading graphic reappeared yesterday. In fact, Blackstone has made this renewed misrepresentation even worse.

Two and a half years ago, we started a series of posts outlining problems with BREIT.

In December 2022, we predicted a run on BREIT and then in April 2023 we identified 7 major areas in which we...

These 100 Auto-callable Notes Lost $1 Billion

(Mar 2025)

By Craig McCann and Mike Yan

Last March, we posted four short articles on auto-callable structured products.

In Autocallables 2024 (March 25, 2024) we noted that $122 billion of auto-callable structured products had been sold in the prior 4 years, mostly issued by UBS, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley. You can read that post here.

In Autocallables 2024 Part II: Lucid-linked Notes (March 26, 2024) we illustrated features of autocallables using five notes...

RIA Insurance Mandates Didn't Reduce Access to Advisory Services

(Aug 2024)

By Craig McCann and Chuan Qin

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

Introduction

Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance can help fund resolution of customer complaints against investment advisers. Many advisors are not insured or have minimal insurance, choosing to fund settlements and awards directly at the risk a particularly costly resolution might bankrupt the advisor. When advisors are unable to pay an adverse judgment, the investor suffers more than the...

Starwood REIT Misleads, Like BREIT only Worse!

(Apr 2024)

By Craig McCann and Regina Meng

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

In late 2022 we analyzed BREIT and concluded that BREIT had been systematically inflating its NAV, smoothing its returns and misleading investors. The intervening 18 months have confirmed our opinions.

We focused on BREIT because it was a juggernaut and a poster child for the nontraded REIT industry trying to rebuild after its prior "lifecycle" flimflam was no longer tenable in the face of...

Autocallables Part IV: Issuers' Day-1 Value Mischief

(Mar 2024)

By Craig McCann and Mike Yan

Earlier this week we posted about the $122 billion in autocallable structured products sold in the past 4 years, mostly issued by UBS, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley. You can read that post here.

We illustrated features of autocallables with reference to the five notes linked to the stock price of Lucid issued by Credit Suisse and Citigroup in a post available here and pointed out a particularly poorly timed issuance by Citigroup linked...

Autocallables 2024 Part III: SVB, Really?

(Mar 2024)

By Craig McCann and Mike Yan

On Monday, we documented that $122 billion in autocallable structured products have been sold in the past 4 years, mostly issued by UBS, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley. You can read our first note on autocallables here.

Yesterday, we illustrated features of autocallables with reference to the five notes linked to the stock price of Lucid issued by Credit Suisse and Citigroup. You can read our second note here.

Today, we point...

Autocallables 2024 Part II: Lucid-linked Notes

(Mar 2024)

By Craig McCann and Mike Yan

Yesterday, we described the rapid growth in Autocallable structured products; $122 billion have been sold in the past 4 years. You can read our first post on autocallables here.

In this, our second, post, we illustrate features of autocallables with reference to the five notes linked to the stock price of Lucid.

Our third post, available here, highlights a Silicon Valley Bank linked autocallable sold by Citigroup after the close on March 9, 2023 right...

Autocallables 2024 Part I

(Mar 2024)

By Craig McCann and Mike Yan

Introduction

We have published extensively on structured products over the past 20 years. We published two papers dealing specifically with autocallable structured products - one in 2011 and one in 2015.[1] Since 2015, while we were focused on other research projects, the issuance of autocallable structured products has exploded, issuers have become more creative, the variety of products has proliferated and the potential for investor harm has increased...

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...

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...

236 Results

1
2
3
...
24
>