FINRA recently reported its January 2010 arbitration statistics. For the month ended January 31, 2010, 456 claims had been filed. This represents a decrease of 14% as compared to the number of cases filed in January 2009 (528). The average turnaround time for cases that have resulted in an arbitration hearing (i.e., cases that did not settle prior to the hearing) has declined by 11% (11.6 months from 13.0 months).
In addition, FINRA has also noted a significant increase in the …

Leveraged ETFs have recently returned to the news as Direxion announced the release of two new funds. As reported on Marketwatch.com, one of these new funds seeks to obtain returns equal to 300% of the two-year Treasury yield, while the other fund seeks to obtain returns equal to 300% of the inverse return of the two-year Treasury yield (in other words, when the Treasury yield declines, the investor profits).
Despite the repeated warnings issued by FINRA and the SEC as to …

From SecuritiesArbitrationBlawg.com:
FINRA recently reported its December 2009 arbitration statistics. For the year ended December 31, 2009, 7,137 claims had been filed. This represents an increase of 43% as compared to the number of cases filed in 2008 (4,982). The average turnaround time for cases that go to an arbitration hearing has declined by 11% (14 months from 15.7 months).
The most frequent securities and investment claims/controversies involved in arbitration continue to be breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation/fraud, negligence, and breach of …

FINRA recently reported its October 2009 arbitration statistics. As of October 31, 2009, 6,113 claims were filed, compared to only 3,971 as of October 31, 2008, an increase of 54%. FINRA also reported that 3,697 cases were closed through October and that the average turnaround time for cases that go to an arbitration hearing has declined by 9% (14.3 months from 15.8 months).
The most frequent securities and investment claims/controversies involved in arbitration continue to be breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation/fraud, …

ProFunds Group, one of the largest issuers of leveraged and inverse ETFs recently issued a warning that some of its leveraged and inverse ETFs may not be suitable for all investors. In the prospectus dated October 1, 2009, the company repeatedly states:
The Fund is different from most exchangetraded funds in that it seeks leveraged returns and only on a daily basis. The Fund also is riskier than similarly benchmarked exchange-traded funds that do not use leverage. Accordingly, the Fund may …

From Investment Fraud Blawg, Securities Fraud Blawg, and Stockbroker Fraud Blawg:
On September 21, 2009, Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced that her office had finalized a consent order with JP Morgan Chase & Co. related to the firm’s marketing and sale of auction rate securities (ARS) to Missouri investors.
According to the press release, Missouri investors will receive more than $28 million. In addition, JP Morgan will pay $86,000 to the Missouri Investor Education and Protection Fund, which is used …

From the Securities Arbitration Blawg:
InvestmentNews recently pubished two articles discussing recently filed securities disputes.
First, on August 19, Jeff Benjamin and Sue Asci reported that NBA star Carmelo Anthony filed a lawsuit in federal court against California adviser Larry W. Hamilton. The claim alleges that the adviser transferred $1.75 million of Mr. Anthony’s assets and invested an additional $265,000 with other companies without consent. The complaint seeks an accounting of the adviser’s books and records, $2 million in compensatory damages, and …

From Investment Fraud Blawg, Securities Fraud Blawg, and Stockbroker Fraud Blawg:
Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a joint warning cautioning investors on the dangers in investing in leveraged ETFs and inverse ETFs. The two regulators issued the warning because they “believe individual investors may be confused about the performance objectives of leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs).”
The warning also notes that leveraged ETFs are designed to achieve their investment performance …

From Investment Fraud Blawg, Securities Fraud Blawg, and Stockbroker Fraud Blawg:
Yesterday, August 17, 2009, the Attorney General of the state of New York announced that it had filed a lawsuit against Charles Schwab & Co. for its sales of auction rate securities. According to the press release, the Complaint charges Schwab with violations of the Martin Act for:
falsely representing auction rate securities as liquid, short-term investments without discussing the risks. These representations gave investors a false sense of security that …

From Investment Fraud Blawg, Securities Fraud Blawg, and Stockbroker Fraud Blawg:
According to a recent article on InvestmentNews.com, a study commissioned by Charles Schwab revealed that a significant percentage of investors are unaware of the losses sustained in their accounts. To make matters worse, more than one-third of the investors surveyed did not know which mutual funds they owned and less than one-third spoke with their financial advisor or stockbroker on a regular basis.
In the article, a Charles Schwab executive was …