Broker-dealer agrees to pay $200K to settle Finra allegations it sold unsuitable private placements; SEC charges still pending
LPL Investment Holdings Inc. expects to save up to $12 million next year by moving brokers in its subsidiary Uvest Financial Services Group Inc. to LPL's proprietary clearing platform
LPL Investment Holdings Inc., already the largest independent broker-dealer in the industry, wants to add 400 registered reps and investment advisers each year, chief executive Mark Casady said last week
Another independent broker-dealer that sold high-risk private placements is hanging on by a thread, with the firm's management stating grave concerns about the broker-dealer's future
Private placements strike again: Another independent broker-dealer that sold high-risk Reg D offerings appears to be struggling. This week, CapWest Securities' management filed a report with the SEC stating grave concerns about the B-D's future.
Suddenly, selling away is again a big concern for regulators and law enforcement agencies. In recent months, former reps at several marquee B-Ds have been investigated for allegedly peddling unapproved investments on the side. | <b>Extra </b><a href=http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=CI&Date=20110923&Category=FREE&ArtNo=923009998&Ref=PH>What top RIA execs earn</a>
Finra is continuing to shake up the way broker-dealers show the value of illiquid investments such as non-traded real estate investment trusts and private placements on clients' account statements.
Clients of David Lerner Associates Inc. holding shares in nontraded REITs created by Apple REIT Cos. Inc. received account statements at the end of last month in which the longtime value of the shares was shown as “not priced”
The price of one in a series of 10 nontraded REITs sold exclusively through David Lerner Associates Inc. took a hit yesterday when management from Apple REIT Eight Inc. said that its book value was $7.57 per share at the end of March, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That's in contrast to the $11-per-share price that Apple REIT Eight posted last week in a separate SEC filing.
Investor Phillip Frost, the largest shareholder in and chairman of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc., issued a challenge Friday to the independent-brokerage business, saying that the firm's plans to expand are second to none.
