Posts tagged ‘Financial Advisor’
Study Shows Many Financial Professionals Misrepresenting Their Expertise
According to a recent study, it appears that many financial professionals “tend to overstate their qualifications and services.” The investmentnews.com recently reported on the study done by Cerulli Associates Inc. in which they studied the responses of upwards of 1,500 “financial intermediaries.” A Cerulli analyst, Mr. Scott Smith, was quoted in the article as saying, “Most advisers don’t want to say that they don’t offer some kind of service, so they are more likely to overstate their capabilities.”
The reason for this “pattern of misrepresentation” has to do with differences in designations for financial professionals. Mr. Smith told the investmentnews.com that “We found that 59% of respondents were calling themselves full-scale financial planners, when it fact many of them were actually investment planners.” The study found that only 30% of those financial professionals fit Cerulli’s definition of a “financial planner.”
The article notes that financial planners generally “…[work] with clients to build comprehensive plans that include insurance and estate planning.” Alternatively, investment planners “focus on asset management, retirement and college savings plans but tend to offer more-modular-style plans.” Only 22% of industry respondents called themselves investment planners while according to Cerulli and Mr. Smith “56% of respondents are actually investment planners.”
Mr. Smith reportedly told the investmentnews.com that he believed that the “discrepancy could be attributed to that fact a lot of advisers view themselves as being more comprehensive than they actually are, simply because they believe they have the potential to be more comprehensive.” Cerulli’s study does not seem to indicate any willful fraud on the part of the financial professionals, but it does seem to indicate a need for investors, and others seeking financial advice, to ask plenty of questions and do significant research when deciding which financial professional to choose.
The full text of the investmentnews.com article can be found here: http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20120119/FREE/120119908
The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.
If you have suffered investment losses, are concerned that you may be the victim of investment fraud, and would like to speak to a securities attorney about your potential investment loss recovery options please call our Chicago office at 312-238-9650.
For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.
FINRA Arbitration Panel Rules Against Wedbush Morgan Securities and a Former Advisor
According to multiple media outlets, a FINRA arbitration panel recently ruled against Wedbush Morgan Securities and their former Advisor Debbie Michelle Saleh. Between Wedbush Morgan Securities and Debbie Michelle Saleh, they were ordered to pay more than $2.5 million in total.
The case involved the handling of an account of an elderly client. Advisorone.com cited the panel’s decision when it described that Saleh’s actions “included ‘forging the client’s signature on various documents, making gross misrepresentations about the securities in the client’s account and the value of those securities, providing the client with false monthly account statements and executing unauthorized redemptions and/or partial withdrawals in the client’s annuities in violation of her fiduciary duties.”
According to her FINRA broker report (CRD), Debbie Michelle Saleh was employed at Wedbush Securities at the time this case was filed. She was previously employed with Wells Fargo Advisors/Wachovia.
If you have questions about investments you made with Debbie Michelle Saleh while she was employed at Wedbush Morgan Securities, please call The White Law Group’s Chicago office at 312/238-9650 for a free consultation.
The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.
For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.
Potential Issues with Investments in Non-traded REITs
Non-traded REITs are a legitimate investment option for the right investor. REITs capitalize on tax law and often provide the smaller investor with an opportunity to invest in commercial real estate.
However, non-traded REITs are not for everyone. There are a few problems with these investments that make them unsuitable for retired investors or investors needing an income stream.
Non-traded REITs are not traded on any stock exchange and are generally illiquid – making them difficult to sell if needed. Additionally, non-traded REITs are less regulated than other types of investments like stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, increasing the likelihood of fraud with respect to the REITs themselves.
Further, non-traded REITs often pay a high commission to the financial professional – up to as much as 15%, which may sometimes explain the broker’s motivation in recommending the product. Finally, non-traded REITs invest entirely in one sector (real estate), exposing an investor to the risks of the real estate market if the investor is not well diversified in his or her other investments
The White Law Group is currently representing investors in many claims involving non-traded REITs. The firm is currently investigating the manner in which brokerage firms have sold non-traded REITs.
We have compiled a list of upon investigation and belief are many of the available Non-traded REITs:
American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust, American Realty Capital New York Recovery REIT, Inc., American Realty Capital Trust, Apple REIT Six Inc., Apple REIT Seven, Inc., Apple REIT Eight, Inc., Apple REIT Nine, Inc., Behringer Harvard REIT I, Inc., Behringer Harvard Multifamily REIT I, Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT I, Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT II, Carey Watermark Investors Incorporated, CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc. , CNL Macquarie Global Growth Trust, Inc., Cole Credit Property Trust, Inc., Cole Credit Property Trust II, Inc., Cole Credit Property Trust III, Inc., Corporate Property Associates 15, Corporate Property Associates 16 – Global, Inc., Corporate Property Associates 17 – Global, Inc., Healthcare Trust of America, Inc., Hines Global REIT, Inc., Hines REIT, Inc., Inland American Real Estate Trust, Inc., Inland Diversified Real Estate Trust, Inc., Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust, Inc., INREIT Real Estate Investment Trust, KBS Legacy Partners Apartment REIT, Inc., KBS Real Estate Investment Trust I, Inc., KBS Real Estate Investment Trust II, Inc., KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT, Inc., Macquarie CNL Global Income Trust, Inc., Phillips Edison – ARC Shopping Center REIT, Steadfast Income REIT, Inc., Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II, Wells Timberland REIT, Inc.
If you have invested in any of these non-traded REITs and are concerned about your investment, the securities attorneys of The White Law Group may be able to help. For a free consultation, please call the firm’s Chicago office at 312/238-9650.
The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.
For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.
Pacific Office Properties Trust Inc. (REIT) to default on one of its properties?
The San Diego Business Journal recently reported that according to SEC documents the local owner of one of Pacific Office Properties’ office complexes, Sorrento Technology Center in San Diego, “is in default on a loan of $11.6 million.” As of the time of the articles’ release, Pacific Office Properties Trust Inc. was “in negotiations with its lender to modify terms on the loan.”
The potential default is difficult news for Pacific Office Properties which “announced in July that the NYSE Amex [had] accepted its plan for regaining compliance with the stock exchange’s listing standards.” According to the San Diego Business Journal, “the company in April had received notice of a potential delisting because it had total equity of less than $2 million and losses in two out of its three most recent fiscal years.”
The White Law Group will continue to carefully monitor this situation and how it affects investors.
The White Law Group is currently representing many investors who own high-risk REITs in claims against the brokerage firm that recommended the investment. While REIT investments provide a legitimate way for smaller investors to be able invest in commercial real estate, REIT investments are not suitable for all investors. REITs often pay a higher commission to the brokers than traditional investments, which may, in some cases, explain the motivation for financial professionals in encouraging clients to invest in REITs.
Also, brokerage firms have a fiduciary duty to recommend only those investments that are appropriate for the investor in light of the investor’s age, net worth, investment experience, and investment objectives.
If you have questions about your investment in Pacific Office Properties Trust Inc. (REIT), call our Chicago office at 312/238-9650 for a free consultation.
The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.
For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.
Changes in Medicare Policy Make for an Uncertain Future for Nursing Home Focused REITs Ventas and Sabra Health Care REIT
A recent article at nuwireinvestor.com discussed how new Medicare policy will affect REITs whose focus is nursing homes. The new policy will see “Medicare rates…slashed by 11.1% starting Oct. 1.” The article says that the announcement of these changes in policy “has sent nursing home operators scrambling to figure out how to pare expenses.”
This change in Medicare policy will not only impact the nursing home industry itself, but will also impact investments in nursing home related products.
The nuwireinvestor.com cited Robert Mains, a NY based research analyst, who said, “Everyone will have to re-evaluate the earnings potential of nursing home investments.” This re-evaluation will likely effect both publicly traded nursing home stocks and REITs.
The article notes that upon the policy announcement, “the big REIT stocks also took a hit.” The stock of Ventas, for example, dropped “by as much as 19%,” but has since recovered. While the REITs like Ventas and Sabra Health Care are confident that they will be able to weather the changes to the industry, the situation is worth carefully monitoring for investors. The nuwireinvestors.com article says that, “No one expects the wave of nursing home bankruptcies similar to what transpired in the late 1990s after a big Medicare rate cut. But the recent changes will cause investors to take a closer look at nursing home operations.”
The White Law Group will continue to carefully monitor this situation and how it affects investors.
If you have questions about your investment in the Ventas REIT or Sabra Health Care REIT (or another investment closely tied to nursing homes), please call our Chicago office at 312/238-9650 for a free consultation.
The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.
For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.