Recently the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report about the extent of elder abuse by guardians and measures that exist to protect older adults. This has become an issue of utmost importance as the number of older adults, over the age of 65, are expected to nearly double to…
Last year, the Obama administration introduced the Fiduciary rule that requires financial advisers to always act in the best interest of their clients when handling their retirement savings. It was expected to be a big industry shakeup, making financial advice more reliable, compensating advisers with a flat-fee model and reasonable…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. (FINRA) announced in a News Release on November 2, 2016 that it fined eight broker-dealer firms regarding failures to supervise the sale of variable annuities. FINRA announced that the following firms were fined a total of $6.2 million: VOYA Financial Advisors Inc., of Des Moines,…
The securities and investment fraud attorneys at Malecki Law are interested in hearing from investors who have purchased Variable Universal Life Insurance (VUL) policies. According to Investopedia, VUL policies combine a death benefit with investment feature. The investment feature generally includes sub-accounts, as with other variable annuities, that invest in stocks…
As reported recently, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has commenced an investigation into the cross-selling activities of several broker dealers in the wake of the Wells Fargo fallout. FINRA’s objective has reportedly been to determine just how much cross selling is taking place (including promotion of products such as credit…
Alliance for Investor Education and the PIABA Foundation is Hosting an Educational Conference about Securing Investors’ Financial Futures The National Investor Town Hall Meeting is a day-long series of presentations, free to the public, aimed at educating investors about the risks and rewards of financial investing. It will be held…
The investment and securities fraud attorneys at Malecki Law are interested in hearing from investors who have complaints regarding former UBS financial adviser Jeffrey Howell. Per reports, Mr. Howell has been barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”)for providing a customer with false weekly account statements for over six…
According to news reports, the SEC has fined UBS more than $15 million for its failures to properly supervise employees who sold complex investment products to unsophisticated and inexperienced clients of the firm. Complex products are traditionally reserved for only sophisticated investors who have a full understanding of the product…
First Wells Fargo, now Morgan Stanley. On the heels of Wells Fargo’s cross-selling scandal, the broker-dealer Morgan Stanley has been accused of inappropriately promoting “securities based loans” to customers, according to an article published in the Wall Street Journal on October 3, 2016. The complaint, filed by Massachusetts securities regulators, alleges…
Ms. Malecki was a panelist recently at the Practising Law Institute’s (PLI) Securities Arbitration 2016 all-day seminar, where she spoke about ethical and other issues in securities arbitration. Ms. Malecki has spoken at PLI consistently for many years. Her panel Practicum on Experts and Closings focused on expert witnesses and…