Many have either been acquired or are trying to become national firms.
As broker-dealers move toward uniform commissions to comply with Labor Department rule, investors could end up paying higher prices than in an unregulated environment. <b><i>(More: <a href="http://www.investmentnews.com/section/fiduciary-focus" target="_blank">The DOL rule from all angles</a>)</i></b>
Ex-Morgan broker Aaron Parthemer put a pair of athletes in investments that later turned out to be worthless.
The REITs are paying distributions to shareholders that exceed cash flow, in some cases by a wide margin.
Massachusetts securities regulator says agents for six B-Ds and an RIA submitted unauthorized proxy votes for nontraded REITs controlled by a Nicholas Schorsch firm.
Move would generate fees and income from 20-year management agreements.
There already have been several suits over high fees, and a second front may be emerging over plan options.
UDF IV also has suspended distributions to shareholders.
Bad VA switches were supposed to be a thing of the past, but the independent broker-dealer industry should take heed of this fine.
Forget 10%, the firm's new business development company has a hard cap on fees and commissions at 8.95% of gross offering proceeds.
