Tim O'Connor's Blog

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has developed a system for the mandatory reporting of most bond transactions in the United States. All broker/dealers who are members of FINRA are required to report transactions and corporate bonds to the TRACE System under rules approved by the SEC. These rules were designed to bring transparency to […]

On June 17, 2015 the SEC announced fraud charges against Interinvest and Hans Peter Black for channeling more than $17,000,000.00 of their clients’ assets into four financially troubled Canadian penny stock companies in which they allegedly had an undisclosed interest. See the full article here: http://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2015-122.html We offer free initial consultation to investors who feel […]

On Monday, July 6, 2015 the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that Wells Fargo, Raymond James and LPL Financial were ordered to pay $15,000,000.00, $8.7 Million, and $6.3 Million Dollars, respectively in restitution, including interest, with payments to be made to customers effected by the firms’ failure to waive mutual funds sales charges for […]

The New York State Department of Financial Services maintains a Life Insurance Resource Center on its website designed to inform New York State residents of the various life insurance-related products being sold in New York State. These products include immediate annuity contracts such as: Straight life annuities; Life contingent with period certain annuities; Life contingent […]

A number of brokerage firms have sold reverse exchangeable securities, also known as reverse convertibles, to retail investors. These structured products, promising high yields, are often difficult for the average investor to understand and are loaded with risks. In Regulatory Notice 10-09, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) noted the complexity of these products, which […]