On Jan. 19, 2017, a Rite Aid vice president allegedly sold off more than $650,000 in Rite Aid securities before company’s stock price dropped a day later. The exec avoided an $87,277 loss with the sell-off, regulators said, but will pay much more after his day in court.
John Hilton
Markets Will Not Close, Treasury Secretary Vows
The U.S. markets will remain open while the country battles to control the spreading COVID-19 virus, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday. He responded to a smattering of calls for the battered markets to take at least brief holiday.
NYC Man Used Tall Tales To Scam Investors Out Of Millions
A New York City man was sentenced to prison after telling investors a series of tall tales, while leaving out his prior criminal history of fraud. Nicholas J. Genovese, 55, touted an exclusive hedge fund that only accepted investments of at least $1 million.
Lawsuits Pile Up Amid Robinhood’s Repeated App Outages
Lawsuits continue to mount against an online stock trading platform Robinhood after its services were interrupted several times this month, causing users to potentially miss huge stock market gains.
SEC Charges Russian National With Defrauding Investors Of $26M
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged a Russian national Friday with overseeing a multi-million-dollar scam to lure U.S. investors into buying fictitious Certificates of Deposit. The Florida man also faces criminal charges in New Jersey.
Court Freezes Assets Of Florida Advisor Accused Of Fraud By The SEC
A federal judge froze the assets of a Florida-based investment adviser firm that raised $39 million from at least 30 investors with what the Securities and Exchange Commission is calling a “fraudulent, unregistered securities offering.”
Connecticut Advisor Who Scammed Clients Out Of $1.6M Settles Charges
A Connecticut man who defrauded multiple retail clients out of $1.6 million in assets settled his final set of charges today on his way to prison.
Priest Accused Of Intimidation In SEC Hedge Fund Suit
The Securities and Exchange Commission is accusing a New Hampshire priest and hedge fund manager of threatening a witness and leaking confidential documents to a journalist as their ongoing court battle continues.
Financial Advisers Say Don’t Panic And Sell On Fear
Stocks dropped so fast on Monday that it triggered the first automatic halts in trading in two decades. U.S. stocks are now down 19% from the peak they reached last month, edging close to a bear market, defined as a drop of 20% from the peak.
Investor Alleges That Canadian Pot Grower Fudged Facts
A Canadian cannabis company is facing a class-action lawsuit in California federal court alleging that it misled investors and committed securities fraud. The issue concerns allegations of self-dealing and whether the company fairly reported negative consequences to potential investors.
Robinhood Sued After Site Goes Down On Historic Trading Day
A Florida investor is suing the online stock trading platform Robinhood after its services were interrupted for nearly the entire day March 2, causing users to miss a huge stock market rally.
Survey: Women More Likely To Say They Don’t Have Enough Money
Three-quarters of college-educated Americans feel they are behind schedule as it relates to their personal financial security but the underlying reasons differ by gender- women are more likely to say they don’t have enough money. At the same time, men are more likely to blame having too many other responsibilities, according to a new survey.
Fed Cuts Benchmark Interest Rate By Half-Point To Offset Virus
US Federal Reserve cuts benchmark interest rate by half-point, most since 2008, to offset coronavirus impact. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the coronavirus “poses evolving risks to economic activity.”
SEC: Unregistered Brokers Rack Up Millions In Illegal Commissions
A pair of unlicensed and unregistered brokers scammed investors across the country, raking in millions in commissions, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleges in a new complaint.
SEC Fines Actor Steven Seagal Over Crypto Promotions
The SEC’s order finds that actor Steven Seagal failed to disclose he was promised $250,000 in cash and $750,000 worth of B2G tokens in exchange for his promotions, which included posts on his public social media accounts encouraging the public not to “miss out” on Bitcoiin2Gen’s ICO
North Carolina Man Points SEC To Insider Trading Culprit: Himself
A North Carolina man received a lesser penalty for insider trading after blowing the whistle on himself, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday.
Dow Jones Plunges On Coronavirus Fears
The financial world is reeling today as stocks fell nearly across the board while nervous investors assessed the growing coronavirus threat. At some points, stocks fell more than 1,000 points Monday.
SEC Settles Insider Trading Case Involving Ex-AIG Legal Assistant
The Securities and Exchange Commission claims a former AIG legal department employee tipped off his father of a pending insurance company acquisition and the elder man cashed in a $20,000 stock gain off the transaction.
Liquor Distributor Settles SEC Complaint With $5M Fine
A major worldwide beverage distributor has agreed to a $5 million fine to settle a complaint brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it manipulated inventory and misled investors.
SEC: Florida Pair Raked In $170M Off Investment Ponzi Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission says a Tampa real estate investment firm ran a Ponzi scheme that raised $170 million from at least 1,100 mostly elderly investors. Most investors had limited knowledge of what they were investing in, the complaint says, or that the defendants paid out $24 million in commissions to agents and others.
Trump Is Going To Win, Analyst Tells Advisors
There is no reason to expect any change in the Beltway distribution of power, said Chip Roame, managing partner of Tiburon Strategic Advisors. Speaking during a regular conference call Thursday, Roame said President Donald J. Trump is on track for another four-year term.
Boston-Area Man Led ‘Extremely Aggressive’ Insider Trading Scam, SEC Claims
According to a complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Charlie Chen placed “extremely aggressive” and “extraordinarily profitable” trades in advance of Vistaprint quarterly earnings announcements from April 2013 through July 2014.
Massachusetts Man Charged With Selling Rogue Life Settlements
Through his company, Ronald Leger sold “at least” $3.7 million fractional interests in life settlements to 29 investors, the complaint reads. The Massachusetts Securities Division is in the process of finalizing a fiduciary rule to tighten the rules for all financial advice and sales.
Pa. Man Milked Mennonites For Millions: U.S. Attorney
Mennonite investors in Pennsylvania were scammed out of $60 million over a decade, say investigators with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The elaborate Ponzi scheme relied on the trust of the Mennonite worshippers, investigators say.
Massachusetts Dealing With Flood Of Comments On Fiduciary Proposal
Work continues on a fiduciary rule proposed by the Massachusetts Securities Division. The department posted 227 comment letters last week, three weeks after the comment deadline. A spokeswoman said all of the comments will be included in the rulemaking process.
Report: Barclays Warns Investors Of A Warren Presidency
Mother Jones, a liberal news website, reports that it has copies of internal memorandums circulated by Barclays, a powerful London-based bank and financial services firm. In one such memo, the bank warns that a Warren presidency “would directly impact corporate earnings.”
Gov. Charlie Baker Breaks With State Officials Over Mass. Fiduciary Reg
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker sent a letter Tuesday to Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin urging him to defer action on proposed fiduciary regulation. The proposal creates “confusion,” and ignores other state and national regulatory efforts, Baker wrote.
Top 5 Stories Of 2019: Fashion To Fiduciary
It was a very busy year and our readership reflected the frenetic time for financial services. Here are the top five most-read stories on Advisor News.
Big Growth Forecast For Independent Advisor Channels: Tiburon
Tiburon counts 335,000 financial advisors — a stagnant figure over the past 15 years — controlling nearly $25 trillion in assets. While the number of advisors remains the same, the assets they control has more than doubled since 2010. In the future, the independent channels should continue to grow, Tiburon predicted.
RIAs Getting Bigger Slice Of $7 Trillion Pie
The independent broker-dealer space is growing at a healthy pace, but just not as healthy as registered investment advisors are, one leading analyst said. That is one trend line not likely to change anytime soon, said Chip Roame, managing partner of Tiburon Strategic Advisors.
Changes To Social Security You Need To Know For 2020
Changes are to the Social Security Administration pension program are an annual event and 2020 is no different. Some changes are due to formulas, while others are part of the legislative framework underpinning Social Security. Here are six changes announced by the SSA last month:
NAIC Urged To Do Full Review Of Illustrations; Regulators Demur
Insurance commissioners tabled a proposal today to create a Life Insurance and Annuity Illustration Working Group to complete a comprehensive and coordinated review of annuity and life insurance illustrations. The proposed working group would coordinate illustration issues, particularly with indexed products, across annuity and life insurance.
Industry Groups, Senators Make Big Push For SECURE Act
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kent., Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., lobbied for immediate Senate consideration of the bipartisan Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (Secure) Act. The bill passed the House by a 417-3 vote on May 23.
View From FPA: Ethics And Alan Page Kick Off Day One
The Financial Planning Association 2019 Annual Conference kicked off this morning from Minneapolis. Our Cassie Miller is at the scene reporting on the three-day conference for Advisor News.
An attorney for Stephen Cook, a broker who sued Ohio National to recoup trail commissions, said his client will appeal an Oct. 2 ruling dismissing his lawsuit.
The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New York filed an appeal Monday challenging a New York Supreme Court ruling upholding the state’s new regulations governing annuity and life insurance sales.
Advisors Face A ‘Pretty Optimistic’ Future Thanks To Baby Boomers
Chip Roame is “pretty optimistic” about the near future of the financial services industry and he points to two words as the reason why: baby boomers.
NAIC Working Group Wades Into Retirement Crisis
Jason Berkowitz, chief legal and regulatory affairs officer for the Insured Retirement Institute, identified two critical problems that are leaving too many Americans unprepared for retirement.
New DOL Best-Interest Rules On The Way, Will Mirror SEC: Analyst
The Department of Labor is expected to release its revised best-interest rules in the coming weeks and the financial services industry should be pleased, said Joshua Waldeser, partner at Drinker Biddle & Reath.
Morningstar estimates that just 25% of Americans are on track to have what they need for retirement. It is one of many studies showing the gap in retirement savings as Americans transition from defined benefit to defined contribution planning.
Panel: Let’s Hope The SEC Takes Charge Of ‘Best Interest’ Movement
The Securities and Exchange Commission has been very deliberate with its Regulation Best Interest, which was tentatively adopted last April.
State Regulators Driving The (Best Interest) Train
The fiduciary battleground is moving to the states as more of them eye best-interest regulations.
The Fed Holds The Line On Interest Rates
The Federal Reserve did the expected today and is holding interest rates to the current range of 2.25 to 2.5 percent.
N.Y. Advisors Face Tough Standard
Regulation 187 will change the way annuities are sold in New York.
Ohio National Facing New Lawsuit Over Trail Comp Cut
A new lawsuit was filed Monday challenging Ohio National’s decision to stop paying trail commissions on certain variable annuity contracts.
Arizona Annuity Law Passes Senate One Month After Being Introduced
Senate Bill 1534 was introduced Feb. 6 and quickly passed out of the Senate Finance Committee before clearing the full Senate this week. The bill moves on to the House of Representatives.
House Finance Committee To Hold Hearing On SEC Reg Bi
The House Financial Services Committee announced today that a subcommittee hearing will be held on the SEC’s best interest rule on March 14.
Annuity Sales Spiked 14 Percent In 2018, No Slowdown In Sight
Total 2018 annuity sales increased 14 percent to $232.1 billion, compared with 2017 results, according to LIMRA. Rising interest rates and the elimination of the Department of Labor fiduciary rule are seen as factor boosting annuity sales, which are the best LIMRA has seen since it began tracking sales.
Jackson National Inks Deal To Distribute Annuities To RIAs
DPL Financial Partners and Jackson National Life Insurance Company have an new agreement to bring the carrier’s advisory annuity products to fee-only advisors. The deal represents Jackson’s first distribution partnership targeting the independent RIA channel.
Start Me Up: Annuity Group To Sponsor Rolling Stones’ Tour
The annuity focused Alliance for Lifetime Income has signed on as the sole sponsor of The Rolling Stones’ 2019 “No…
Ohio National: We Can Legally Terminate Selling Agreements
Ohio National informed broker-dealers in a Sept. 28 letter that it would terminate “any and all servicing agreements” on Dec. 13. That means all compensation, specifically trail commissions, stopped on that date.
Congress Punts Retirement Security Bill To Next Session
With Congress consumed by finding a way to keep the government open for business, and the session coming near the end, the financial services industry is conceding defeat on passing a retirement security package in 2018.
2019 Looking Like A Good Year To Be An Advisor
Americans have money to invest in retirement and want financial advice.
Ohio National Officially Terminates Select VA Trails
Trail commissions stopped today for any producer who sold a VA with a guaranteed minimum income benefit rider. The company has been sued twice so far by broker-dealers in federal court.
NAIFA Files Second Lawsuit Against NY Best-Interest Rule
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors’ New York chapter filed a lawsuit to stop the state’s controversial best-interest rule. The rule is “arbitrary and capricious” and was crafted outside of the New York Legislature, the lawsuit claims, which has the proper authority.
Ohio National President/COO Departs After A Controversial Three Months
Ohio National Financial Services made a surprise announcement Tuesday that president and COO Christopher Carlson is retiring three months after taking the position.
Election night yielded a little something for everyone. But what does it mean for insurance and financial services as a whole? We see three key takeaways, and not all of them are bad news.
‘Fraudsters’ Gaining On Insurance Industry, Expert Says
Cyberattacks cost financial-services firms more to address and contain than in any other industry, and the rate of breaches in the industry has tripled over the past five years, according to a February report from Accenture.
Succession: Ready Or Not
Many agents and advisors are aging out of the business, but are often failing to plan a transition for their agencies until they approach retirement.
Industry Stunned By Ohio National Decision To End Broker Contracts On VAs
“Crazy,” “stunning” and “very odd” were just some of the reactions today to news from Ohio National that it will end advisor compensation on existing variable annuity contracts.
