Tim O'Connor's Blog

. . . and Improper Transfer of Monies from Deferred Compensation Plans Over one million New York State retirees are participants in the New York State Deferred Compensation plan, an employee self-funded common account which supplements New York State retirees’ participation in existing New York State Pension Plan (i.e. Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier […]

The past decade has seen an explosion of the number of Registered Representatives (stockbrokers) employed by brokerage firms opting to leave their employment status in the brokerage industry to become Registered Investment Advisors registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  While many Registered Investment Advisors choose to let their securities industry licensure (FINRA/CRD) lapse, many […]

Compensatory Damages of $637,069.00 Assessed Against Morgan Stanley in Favor of Terminated Broker on Counterclaims in Retention Bonus Promissory Note Case   An arbitration panel of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has awarded terminated and former Morgan Stanley broker, David Ayres, compensatory damages of $637,069.00 on his counterclaims in a retention bonus promissory note […]

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority issued several warnings to its members, including Regulatory Notice 09-31, Regulatory Notice 09-65, and Regulatory Notice 09-53, specifically advising that these funds are not suited for small investors, and that even in the event they are in fact purchased in retail customer accounts, they should not be held overnight. Inverse […]

The various costs associated with variable annuity policies includes surrender charges and fluctuating costs of insurance charges, all of which means that the underlying cash values of the Variable Universal Life policy must work that much harder in order to maintain (and pay for) the life insurance benefit provided by the policy.  Other monthly deductions […]