Suitability

Gana LLP Investigates Investor Losses in American Eagle Energy Corp. (AMZG)

June 30, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating investors who have suffered losses in in now bankrupt oil and gas company, American Eagle Energy Corp. (Stock Symbols: AMZG) (American Eagle Energy). American Eagle Energy is a Colorado, Littleton-based company that buys and develops wells in the Williston Basin of North Dakota. American Eagle Energy filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2015.

Our offices continue to report on investment losses suffered by investors in various oil and gas investments that brokerage firms have increasingly recommended to retail investors in recent years. These investments include private placements, master limited partnerships (MLPs), leveraged ETFs, mutual funds, and even individual stocks.

Oil and gas related investments have been recommended by brokers under the assumption that oil & gas would continue to be sold at around $100 and increase steadily over time. However, last summer the price of oil & gas plummeted due to a strengthening dollar and increased global supply of oil and remains below $60 to this day. Some experts are saying that if production volume continues to be as high as it currently is and demand growth weak that the return to $100 a barrel is years away.

Broker Investigation: Kenneth McDonald’s Sale of Tenants-in-Common (TIC) Real Estate Investments

June 29, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Kenneth McDonald (McDonald) has been the subject of at least three customer complaints and one regulatory action. Customers have filed complaints against McDonald alleging a number of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments, misrepresentations and false statements in connection with recommendations to invest in private placements such as tenants-in-common (TICs) interests.

McDonald was a registered representative with Crown Capital Securities, L.P. from June 2003 through February 2013. Thereafter, McDonald has been registered with Newport Coast Securities, Inc.

TIC investments have come under fire by many investors. Indeed, due to the failure of the TIC investment strategy as a whole across the securities industry, TIC investments have virtually disappeared as offered investments. According to InvestmentNews “At the height of the TIC market in 2006, 71 sponsors raised $3.65 billion in equity from TICs and DSTs…TICs now are all but extinct because of the fallout from the credit crisis.” In fact, TICs recommendations have been a major contributor to bankrupting brokerage firms. For example, 43 of the 92 broker-dealers that sold TICs sponsored by DBSI Inc., a company whose executives were later charged with running a Ponzi scheme, a staggering 47% of firms that sold DBSI are no longer in business.

Broker Spotlight: Ellwood Jones’ Investment Recommendations

June 26, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Ellwood Jones (Jones) has been the subject of at least four customer complaints. Customers have filed complaints against Bell alleging a number of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments, misrepresentations and false statements, among other claims. Some of these claims involve recommendations in private placements such as hedge funds, insurance products, and direct participation programs (DPPs).

Since 1997 Jones was associated with NFP Advisor Services (NFP) until March 2011. According to Jones’ BrokerCheck records, Jones has a number of other disclosed outside businesses including Capital Region International, LLC, A.B.R.C., and Synergex International Corporation.

One customer complaint against Jones alleged damages of $10,000,000 resulting from negligence and misrepresentations concerning hedge funds. In another action, the customer alleged misrepresentations in relation to the customer’s participation in a welfare benefit plan. Finally, in a third customer complaint the customer alleged misrepresentations in connection with the sale of insurance and other financial transactions involving alternative investments and limited partnership interests.

FINRA Fines RBC $1.4 Million Over Unsuitable Reverse Convertibles

June 16, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ordered RBC Capital Markets (RBC) to pay a $1 million fine and approximately $434,000 in restitution to customers for alleged supervisory failures resulting in sales of unsuitable reverse convertibles.

As a background, a reverse convertible is an interest-bearing note where repayment of the principal is tied to the performance of an underlying asset, such as a stock or basket of stocks. Investor risk of loss comes from changes in the value of the underlying asset. If the asset falls below a certain level at maturity or during the term of the reverse convertible the investor can suffer losses. In February 2010, FINRA issued a regulatory notice on reverse convertibles emphasizing the need for firms to perform a suitability analysis in connection with sales of reverse convertible because they are complex product.

FINRA and the SEC have both expressed alarm at the growing popularity of complex products. Complex securities include, but are not limited to equity-indexed annuities, leveraged and inverse-leveraged exchange traded funds, reverse convertibles, alternative mutual funds, exchange traded products, and structured notes. A 2012 SEC study on investor financial literacy found that retail investors, and particularly the elderly and minorities, lack basic financial literacy skills. Combining a general lack of financial literacy with an investment product landscape that increasingly focuses on ever more complex product offerings and investors are more reliant on their advisers than ever. Accordingly, retail investors do not always fully appreciate the risks involved with these.

First Allied Securities Broker Daniel Grieco Sanctioned Over Non-Traditional ETF Sales

June 15, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sanctioned broker Daniel Grieco (Grieco) concerning allegations that Grieco made recommendations of non-traditional exchange-traded funds (Non-Traditional ETFs) to various customers without having reasonable grounds to believe his recommendations were suitable.

Non-Traditional ETFs are behave drastically different and have different risk qualities from traditional ETFs. While traditional ETFs simply seek to mirror an index or benchmark, Non-Traditional ETFs use a combination of derivatives instruments and debt to multiply returns on underlining assets, often attempting to generate 2 to 3 times the return of the underlining asset class. Non-Traditional ETFs are also used to earn the inverse result of the return of the benchmark.

In addition, regular ETFs can be held for long term trading, but Non-Traditional ETFs are generally designed to be used only for short term trading. The use of leverage employed by these funds causes their long-term values to be dramatically different than the underlying benchmark over long periods of time. For example, between December 1, 2008, and April 30, 2009, the Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Index gained two percent while the ProShares Ultra Oil and Gas, a fund seeking to deliver twice the index’s daily return fell six percent. In another example, the ProShares UltraShort Oil and Gas, seeks to deliver twice the inverse of the index’s daily return fell by 26 percent over the same period.

Global Arena Capital Broker Nick Morrisey Suspended By FINRA

June 9, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

According the BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) the agency suspended former Global Arena Capital Corp (Global Arena) broker Niaz Elmazi a/k/a Nick Morrisey (Morrisey) concerning allegations that Morrisey failed to respond to FINRA’s requests for information.

Morrisey has a history of regulatory complaints and also has one customer complaint on his record. In 2013, the state of Arkansas brought action against Morrisey alleging that in July 2012, Morrisey contacted an Arkansas resident via a cold call in order to recommend the purchase of a corporate bond issued by Verso Paper Corp (Verso). However, Morrisey was unaware that the Arkansas resident was actually employed as a senior securities examiner with the Arkansas securities department and that he had contacted the examiner on an office phone during business hours. During the conversation it was alleged by Arkansas that Morrisey made untrue and false statements when recommending the Verso bond. In addition, Arkansas alleged that Morrisey had no reasonable grounds for believing that the recommendation was suitable for the investor prior to making the recommendation.

All advisers have a fundamental responsibility to deal fairly with investors including making suitable investment recommendations. In order to make suitable recommendations the broker must have a reasonable basis for recommending the product or security based upon the broker’s investigation of the investments properties including its benefits, risks, tax consequences, and other relevant factors. In addition, the broker must also understand the customer’s specific investment objectives to determine whether or not the specific product or security being recommended is appropriate for the customer based upon their needs.

Broker Investigation: Patrick McGrath Former Oppenheimer & Co. Advisor

May 31, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Patrick McGrath (McGrath) has been the subject of at least four customer complaints, two regulatory actions, and one termination over the course of his career. Customers have filed complaints against McGrath alleging a litany of securities law violations including that the broker received loans and failed to pay the client timely, made unsuitable investments, and unauthorized trades, among other claims.

McGrath entered the securities industry in 1984 with brokerage firm Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated. Thereafter, from July 2003, until April 2009, 2007 through June 2009, McGrath was associated with brokerage firm Wachoiva Securities, LLC. Then, from April 2009 until January 2014, McGrath was a representative with Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. (Oppenheimer). Finally since February 2014, McGrath has been registered with Northeast Securities, Inc.

McGrath was permitted to resign from Oppenheimer in January 2014 due to his failure to finalize arrangements to repay money he borrowed from an Oppenheimer customer. There are also two regulatory actions against McGrath. One is a 30 day suspension and a $10,000 fine by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation based on allegations that McGrath engaged in prohibited business practices. FINRA also suspended McGrath for four months and fined him $10,000 concerning allegations that he borrowed money from a client contrary to Oppenheimer’s compliance policies that bar loan arrangements.

Gana LLP Investigates Investor Losses in BPZ Energy

May 19, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently investigating investors who have suffered losses in in now bankrupt oil and gas company, BPZ Resources, Inc. (BPZ Resources) (Stock Symbols: BPZRQ and BPZ) BPZ Resources is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company with license contracts covering approximately 1.9 million net acres in four properties in northwest Peru. BPZ Resources filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2015.

Our offices continue to report on investment losses suffered by investors in various oil and gas investments that brokerage firms have increasingly recommended to retail investors in recent years. These investments include private placements, master limited partnerships (MLPs), leveraged ETFs, mutual funds, and individual stocks. See Overconcentrated in Oil and Gas Investments?, MLP Fund MainStay Cushing Royalty Energy Hurt by Failing Oil & Gas Prices; Oil and Gas Investments – Issuers Profit While Investors Take All the Risk, BlackGold Opportunity Fund Investors Suffer Losses

Oil and gas related investments have been recommended by brokers under the assumption that oil & gas would continue to be sold at around $100 and increase steadily over time. However, last summer the price of oil & gas plummeted due to a strengthening dollar and increased global supply of oil and remains below $60 to this day. Some experts are saying that if production volume continues to be as high as it currently is and demand growth weak that the return to $100 a barrel is years away.

Gana LLP Now Representing Investors That Suffered Losses in Quicksilver Resources

May 18, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are currently representing investors who have suffered losses in in now bankrupt oil and gas company Quicksilver Resources, Inc. (Quicksliver) (Stock Symbols: KWKAQ, KWKA, and KWK). Quicksilver is an independent oil and gas company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, production, and sale of natural gas, natural gas liquids, and oil in North America headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. Quicksilver filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 14, 2015.

Our offices continue to report on investment losses suffered by investors in various oil and gas investments that brokerage firms have increasingly recommended to retail investors in recent years. These investments include private placements, master limited partnerships (MLPs), leveraged ETFs, mutual funds, and even individual stocks. See Overconcentrated in Oil and Gas Investments?, MLP Fund MainStay Cushing Royalty Energy Hurt by Failing Oil & Gas Prices; Oil and Gas Investments – Issuers Profit While Investors Take All the Risk, BlackGold Opportunity Fund Investors Suffer Losses

Oil and gas related investments have been recommended by brokers under the assumption that oil & gas would continue to be sold at around $100 and increase steadily over time. However, last summer the price of oil & gas plummeted due to a strengthening dollar and increased global supply of oil and remains below $60 to this day. Some experts are saying that if production volume continues to be as high as it currently is and demand growth weak that the return to $100 a barrel is years away.

Has Your Financial Advisor Overconcentrated Your Investments In Oil & Gas?

May 14, 2015 | by Staff Attorney

Long time readers of this blog know that we have previously reported that brokerage firms have increasingly recommended that retail investors invest heavily in various types of oil & gas investments including private placements, master limited partnerships (MLPs), leveraged ETFs, mutual funds, and even individual stocks. See Overconcentrated in Oil and Gas Investments?, MLP Fund MainStay Cushing Royalty Energy Hurt by Failing Oil & Gas Prices; Oil and Gas Investments – Issuers Profit While Investors Take All the Risk

For instance, MLPs are publicly traded partnerships where about 86% of approximately 130 MLP securities, a $490 billion sector, can be attributed to energy and natural resource companies. Billions more have been raised in the private placement market. These oil and gas private placements suffer from enormous risks that often outweigh any potential benefits including securities fraud, conflicts of interests, high transaction / sales costs, and investment risk.

These investments have been recommended by brokers under the assumption that oil & gas would continue to be sold at around $100 and increase steadily over time. However, last summer the price of oil & gas plummeted due to a strengthening dollar and increased global supply of oil and remains below $60 to this day. Some experts are saying that if production volume continues to be as high as it currently is and demand growth weak that the return to $100 a barrel is years away.