May 22, 2012, 2:42 PM EST

Live updates about broker-dealers from Finra's annual conference

Follow along with InvestmentNews brokerage reporter Bruce Kelly, who is tweeting about news and trends impacting independent broker-dealers from Finra's annual conference in Washington, D.C.@newsfromIN Finra panel on nontraded REIT valuations: $10 per share, $10, $10then, WHOOPS, it's $5. That is something we'd like to change.— Bruce Kelly (@BDNEWSGUY) May 22, 2012@newsfromIN Finra panel: Small BDs sometimes get shut out of due diligence process when asking about nontraded REITs. #Finra— Bruce Kelly (@BDNEWSGUY) May 22, 2012@newsfromIN Finra working on new system in which BDs file PP memorandum with regulators 15 days after brokers sell the deal. #Finra— Bruce Kelly (@BDNEWSGUY) May 22, 2012... Read full post

May 22, 2012, 2:41 PM EST

Live updates about social media from Finra's annual conference

Follow along with InvestmentNews editor Jim Pavia, who is tweeting about social media trends from Finra's annual conference in Washington, D.C.Janney's biggest investment in social media is public relations...their advisers are not using social media yet but it will happen#finra— Jim Pavia (@jimpavia) May 22, 2012Finra panel: avoid investment product specific discussions in social media or networking postings#finra— Jim Pavia (@jimpavia) May 22, 2012Finra panel says avoid confusion.the firm's team needs to convey the same company message when posting on various social media sites.#finra— Jim Pavia (@jimpavia) May 22, 2012vanguard panelist says firm goal is to go to where their investors reside in social media. They use FB twitter and private community#finra— Jim Pavia (@jimpavia) May 22, 2012At finra:panel says pressure is on firms to build customized apps for Facebook. Firms need to think it through and do so... Read full post

May 22, 2012, 11:44 AM EST

Andy Friedman: Dividend stocks headed for trouble

By Lavonne Kuykendall

Political pundit Andy Friedman, principal of The Washington Update, believes that taxes will likely be higher next year. That scenario, he said, means financial advisers should reevaluate their clients who are concentrated in one stock or who own a lot of dividend-paying stocks.If Congress doesn't act, tax rates on dividend income will nearly triple, which will affect dividend-paying stocks in a variety of ways, Mr. Friedman told an audience at the Raymond James national conference in Orlando Tuesday.For dividend stocks that also offer the chance of sizeable capital appreciation, a tripling of the tax rate will lead the issuing companies to stop hiking the payouts. Instead, Mr. Friedman says those businesses "will keep that money to buy back stock so shareholders get capital gains (instead),” he said. For companies that are bought primarily for the dividends, “the value of that stock will likely decline.”If Mr.... Read full post

May 22, 2012, 11:08 AM EST

Finra's Ketchum: We're not going to post test scores

By John Goff

During a speech on Monday at the Finra conference, the regulator's boss, Rick Ketchum, discussed a wide array of topics. Those included the SRO's concerns about potential conflicts of interest at brokerages, as well as the selling of complex investments without proper due diligence.But Mr. Ketchum dropped one small bombshell in his speech -- one that is likely to please most reps out there. As you recall, Finra officials in February indicated they were considering, among other things, posting broker's test scores on BrokerCheck, the regulator's public database. The proposal did not sit well with some reps or their advocacy groups. Yesterday, however, Mr. Ketchum said Finra is not interested is collecting or publicizing such info. Here's what he said:"For the next phase, we're interested in ideas for expanding the range of information we disclose in BrokerCheck, updating the way in which that information is presented, and increasing... Read full post

May 21, 2012, 10:36 AM EST

Ketchum: Finra's focus on conflicts of interest compounding

By Bruce Kelly

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. is focusing on conflicts of interest at broker-dealers and whether firms are on top of the variety of complex financial products flooding the market right now. Those were two substantial themes in Monday morning's remarks by Richard Ketchum, the chairman and chief executive of Finra. The self-regulatory organization kicked off its annual meeting, which is in Washington this year, on Monday.Mr. Ketchum said that, “given the tremendous uncertainty of markets today,” firms must have in mind how they “assess and disclose” conflicts. Finra and broker-dealers both understand that conflicts exist, but, he says, firms need to take a step back, acknowledge there are risks and ask if business practices “put your firm's or employees' interests ahead of investors'."Finra will talk to large firms about this issue later this year. RELATED ITEM What Ketchum said -- in... Read full post

May 21, 2012, 9:43 AM EST

Facebook IPO great for insiders — but what about investors?

By Jeff Benjamin

If you were patient enough to wait until the second day of trading for the most-hyped public stock offering ever, you might feel good about getting Facebook Inc. Ticker:(FB) at more than 11% below Friday's IPO price. Even so, you're still stuck with a stock that the smart money already is selling. “The IPO has become little more than a way for insiders to cash out,” said George Feiger, chief executive of Contango Capital Advisors Inc., a trust company and advisory firm that manages $3.3 billion in assets. Mr. Feiger isn't down on Facebook for any reason related to the fundamental value of the social-networking company. He is down on it because it represents the epitome of what's wrong with the present-day IPO. “Twenty years ago, a company went public to raise capital for growth, but today, it's just the opposite,” he said. “You have huge pools of private money that fund private businesses.” With that ... Read full post

May 17, 2012, 1:36 PM EST

It's a beautiful day: Facebook IPO makes Bono world's richest rock star

By Paul Menchaca

It's become a cliche these days to refer to anyone who is talented or successful in their industry as being a "rock star" of their chosen field. We say this as a way to convey that this person is not only successful, but that he or she is a true influencer among their peers, blessed with a certain amount of charisma and charm and that unique ability to get people excited about their industry.When people talk about today's "rock stars" of investing, they might point to some of the usual suspects like Warren Buffet, John Bogle or Peter Lynch. But after Facebook's IPO is launched on Friday, the good-old-boys club of savvy investors may have to make room for someone less known for being a successful investor and more known for being a, well, rock star. Per Nasdaq's website:Bono is among the long list of those who will benefit when Facebook goes public on Friday. The U2 singer is set to become the richest man in rock when Facebook shares... Read full post

May 17, 2012, 3:36 PM EST

Around the web: What people are saying about the Facebook IPO

The anticipation of the Facebook IPO will, more than likely, be more interesting - and at minimum, more entertaining - than the actual IPO itself. So much so, that it seems as though there's at least one Tweet every second about the upcoming Facebook IPO (Follow the #Facebook conversation here.)What are some of the key voices saying about Facebook's debut tomorrow? Here's a rolling list of observations - some serious, some not - from some social influencers @newsfromIN keeps tabs on:Andy Borowitz ‏@BorowitzReport Official #Facebook IPO slogan: "You've already wasted your time on Facebook. Now waste your money."Jeff Benjamin ‏@Jeff_Benjamin Facebook IPO mood has officially shifted from over-hyped hysteria to critical piling on, which is probably where it should be.Downtown Josh Brown ‏@ReformedBroker I have my wife waking me up every 2 hours just to make sure I don't miss any Facebook news overnight, the most important ... Read full post

May 17, 2012, 3:32 PM EST

Alternatives funds finally catching on — but are they the wrong ones?

By Jeff Benjamin

In the age-old riddle of why retail-class investors consistently represent the tail-end of virtually every broad market investment trend, one clue might be found within the mutual fund industry. Here we are with the S&P 500 Index up more than 100% from the market bottom in March 2009 and fund investors are still pulling money out of stock funds while shoveling money into conservative bond funds. According to the Investment Company Institute, from March 2009 through May 9, 2012, equity mutual funds experienced $166.2 billion in net outflows, while bond funds over the same period had net inflows of $835.7 billion. Of course, at this point, with the stock market rally looking like it's about to run out of steam — and signs of new risk popping up almost daily — the fund industry is surely ramping up for a more defensive lineup of investment strategies, right? Not so much. According to new report by Cerulli Associates Inc., the... Read full post

May 15, 2012, 3:20 PM EST

Taking stock of bullion: Rogers says monster correction for gold possible

By John Goff

According to a report Tuesday on Yahoo Finance, commodities guru Jim Rogers sees potential trouble ahead for gold.Rogers said two likely triggers could cause the plunge in price, which he predicts could drop as much as 40% to 50%. One would be a curtailing of the hording of gold in India. "There's an element in India in the last several months which is very strongly saying we've got all this money tied up in gold which is not good for the economy. If we could just get the money into circulation instead of locked up on Indian wives or Indian vaults it would be good for the economy. And there's also a huge group saying that one of the big reasons we have this huge balance of trade deficit is because we buy all this gold and put it in the closet. Let's stop that. Now if they did that it would be devastating for gold."The second trigger? Europe. "There are also Europeans who are talking about the need to sell their gold or at least to... Read full post