According to the SEC, social media provides those inclined to commit fraud the opportunity to “contact many different people at a relatively low cost.” Additionally, the ease at which individuals can create profiles and pages that may appear legitimate may be to their advantage. The alert says, “…that feeling of legitimacy gives criminals a better chance to convince you to send them your money.” Finally, social media provides an opportunity to those wishing to commit fraud with some anonymity which may “make it harder for fraudsters to be held accountable.”

The SEC goes on to give tips for how investors may use the positive aspects of social media for investing, while protecting the investors from fraudulent investments schemes. Like many investor alert’s, the SEC says being an “educated investor” in the best way to protect one’s self. They offer five tips to “avoid fraud online.”

1. “Be Wary of Unsolicited Offers to Invest”

2. “Look out for Common “Red Flags””

3. “Be Thoughtful About Privacy and Security Settings”

4. “Ask Questions and Check Out Everything”

5. Avoid “Common Investment Scams Using Social Media and the Internet”

- “Pump-and-Dumps” and Market Manipulations

- “Fraud Using “Research Opinions,” Online Investment Newsletters, and Spam Blasts”

- “High Yield Investment Programs”

- “Internet-Based Offerings”

You can find the full text of the SEC investor alert about social media at this address: http://investor.gov/news-alerts/investor-alerts/investor-alert-social-media-investing-avoiding-fraud

If you are concerned that you have been the victim of securities fraud and would like to speak to a securities attorney about your potential to recover your losses through securities arbitration please call our Chicago office at 312-238-9650.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.

For more information on The White Law Group, visit http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.

The White Law Group is investigating potential securities fraud and suitability claims regarding brokerage firms’ recommendations that investors purchase ICON Leasing Funds.

According to the company’s own press releases, ICON is an equipment leasing company, engaged in the acquisition, purchase, and lease of various equipment to third-party end users, as well as financing equipment for third parties in the United States and internationally.

Investments in ICON Leasing Funds involve risk and it appears that certain brokerage firms failed to adequately disclose these risks prior to recommending the funds for sale to its clients.

To determine whether you may be able to recover investment losses incurred as a result of your purchase of an ICON Leasing Fund, please contact The White Law Group 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, visit http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.

While structured notes with principal protection have the potential to outperform the total interest payment that would be paid on typical fixed interest rate bonds, these notes also might underperform a typical fixed interest rate bond and could earn no return for the entire term of the note, even if you hold the note to maturity. Their terms and structures also can be more complex than traditional bonds, making them more difficult for investors to evaluate. Finally, as with structured products generally, structured notes with principal protection may have hidden or imputed costs that can be relatively high and difficult to understand.

FINRA and the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy are issuing this alert to make investors aware of these risks and to help them better understand how structured notes with principal protection work. The alert includes questions investors should ask when considering structured notes with principal protection and provides links to helpful resources, including a recent FINRA Regulatory Notice on these products. In particular, the terms related to any protections to or guarantee of your principal require a careful review.

What Are Structured Notes With Principal Protection?

For the purposes of this alert, the term “structured note with principal protection” refers to any structured product that combines a bond with a derivative component—and that offers a full or partial return of principal at maturity. Structured products in general do not represent ownership of any portfolio of assets but rather are promises to pay made by the product issuers. Structured notes with principal protection typically reflect the combination of a zero-coupon bond, which pays no interest until the bond matures, with an option or other derivative product whose payoff is linked to an underlying asset, index or benchmark. The underlying asset, index or benchmark can vary widely from commonly cited market benchmarks to foreign equity indices, currencies, commodities, spreads between interest rates or “hybrid” baskets of various asset types. For example, a note might be based on the performance of an equally weighted basket composed of the Russell 2000, an exchange-traded fund tracking a real estate index, the Brazilian Real-U.S. Dollar exchange rate and the price of copper. These products are designed to return some or all principal at a set maturity date—typically ranging up to 10 years from issuance. The investor also is entitled to participate in a return that is linked to a specified change in the value of the underlying asset.

How Do These Notes Protect My Investment?

If you hold a structured note with principal protection until maturity, you typically will get back at least some—and perhaps all—of your initial investment, even if the underlying asset, index or benchmark declines. Be aware that protection levels may vary. While some products return 100 percent of principal at maturity, others return as little as 10 percent. In some cases, the principal protection does not apply unless some contingency is met—sometimes called “contingent protection”—so it may provide no protection at all, even if the sales materials suggest otherwise.

Also, any guarantee that your principal will be protected—whether in whole or in part—is only as good as the financial strength of the company that makes that promise. In other words, the principal guarantee is subject to the creditworthiness of the guarantor, which is generally the securities firm that structures and issues the note. In the event the issuer goes bankrupt, investors who hold these notes are considered unsecured creditors and might recover little, if anything, of their original investment. This is what happened to investors who purchased structured notes with principal protection issued by now bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings.

How Do Structured Notes With Principal Protection Calculate the Return on My Investment?

Some structured notes with principal protection make periodic interest payments while others don’t. The return on your investment—over and above any principal guarantee and assuming you hold the note to maturity—will depend on a host of factors, including the method the issuer uses to calculate gains (or losses) linked to the performance of the underlying asset, index or benchmark (the “market-linked” returns), the note’s participation rate and any minimum guaranteed return.

Market-linked gains (or losses). As with other complex financial products, there can be varying and often complicated methods of calculating a market-linked gain or loss. For example, one product might compare the change in an index at two discrete points in time, such as the beginning and ending dates of the note’s term (point-to-point). Another product might look at the index value at various points during the life of the investment, for example at annual anniversaries, and then compare the highest value with the value of the index level at the start of the term (high water mark). Some products base your return on the number of days during the holding period that the underlying index stayed above (or below) a pre-specified level (accrual)—or within a range of pre-specified levels (range). And still others use complex, conditional formulas that allow you to participate in some or all of the index’s gain up to a set level—but significantly limit your return if, at any time during the holding period, the index rises above that level (shark fin).

Participation rates. A participation rate determines how much of the gain in the underlying asset, index or benchmark will be credited to the note. For example, if the participation rate is 75 percent, and the asset, index or benchmark increases 10 percent, then the return credited to your note would be 7.5 percent.

Minimum guaranteed returns. If a structured note with principal protection offers a “minimum guaranteed return,” be sure to carefully read the prospectus to understand how the issuer defines that term. In some instances, the term includes not only the principal guarantee but also a fixed overall investment return. For example, a note with 100 percent return of principal at maturity and a 2 percent minimum guaranteed return would pay out 102 percent of your initial investment at maturity, regardless of how the underlying asset, index or benchmark performed. In other cases, however, an issuer might use the term to refer only to the level of principal protection.

The bottom line for investors is that structured notes with principal protection can have complicated pay-out structures that can make it hard to accurately assess their risk and potential for growth. In addition, depending on how the note is structured, the distinct possibility exists that you could tie up your principal for upwards of a decade with the possibility of no profit on your initial investment. While your principal might be returned at maturity, that might be all you get back after this lengthy holding period—and, in the meantime, inflation could erode your purchasing power.

Can I Get My Money When I Need It?

Potential lack of liquidity is one of the disadvantages of structured notes with principal protection. These products tend to be longer-term investments, tying up your money for several years. Some issuers might allow investors to redeem their notes before maturity under certain circumstances, such as expiration of a “lock-up period” (a period of time during which you cannot access your funds), payment of a redemption fee or both. Other issuers might (but are not obligated to) provide a secondary market for certain notes. However, depending on demand, the notes might trade at significant discounts to their purchase price and might not return the full guaranteed amount. In addition, the value of the note before maturity might be difficult to calculate and can vary depending a wide array of factors (including prevailing interest rates and the volatility of the underlying asset, index or benchmark). You might also have to pay a penalty for early redemption, further reducing any return of your principal.

Do Structured Notes With Principal Protection Have Fees?

Yes, even if the sales materials suggest otherwise. Virtually every investment has either implicit or explicit fees, whether they are described as selling commissions or concessions, management fees, structuring fees, early redemption fees or by some other term.

What Other Costs or Tradeoffs Are Involved?

Depending on their terms and the way they are put together, structured notes with principal protection can have hidden or imputed costs, which in some cases may be relatively high. These stem from the way a product is “bundled” or “packaged.” At issuance, any given note will have an estimated fair value based on its structure. The issuer generally raises this value by a spread to arrive at the offering price of the product, which captures costs to the issuer associated with the note over its life, such as costs of hedging, as well as the issuer’s profit. The hidden costs of purchasing virtually any structured product include the possibility that you could have assembled a similar bundle of investments on your own at a lower cost—and potentially with higher returns. The maximum return of any particular structured note with principal protection will typically reflect (and account for) the issuer’s costs of manufacturing and maintaining the note as well as its own profit margin. These costs generally are not transparent to investors.

Other costs of investing in structured notes with principal protection include the opportunity cost involved with sacrificing a potentially higher yield to obtain some downside protection. It is also important to note that the principal protection generally relates to nominal principal and does not offer inflation protection. And, for any underlying investment that would ordinarily pay dividends, structured notes, like other equity or index-linked investments, typically exclude dividends.

How Are These Products Taxed?

In most cases, if you invest in a structured note with principal protection, you must pay federal taxes while you own the product, even before maturity or during any lock-up period and even if you haven’t received any cash payments. This can occur if the interest on the product’s zero-coupon bond holdings (resulting from the principal guarantee) is considered to be imputed interest for federal income tax purposes. You should read the tax consequences description in the prospectus and consult your tax advisor to know how a particular structured note might be taxed and when you must report any income or loss.

What Questions Should I Ask Before Investing?

When you evaluate a structured note with principal protection, be sure to do your research to find answers to the following questions, among others, or ask your investment professional:

• How do I know whether this product is appropriate for me given my overall investment objectives?
• What is the level of principal protection offered? There is a big difference between 100 percent return of principal and 10 percent return, or something in between. Know your protection percentage.
• Are there conditions to the principal protection? For example, is the protection contingent on the occurrence of specified events?
• What are the fees and other costs? Products offering principal protection can be expensive. You should pay particular attention to the fees of any product you invest in, including those that offer principal protection. Ask your investment professional to explain all of the fees and costs associated with the investment.
• How long will my money be tied up? Structured notes with principal protection are meant to be held to maturity and are often designed for long-term investors. If you need your money back early, you could pay a significant penalty. Furthermore, any downside protection offered might only kick in after a long lock-up period—or it might require you to hold the note until maturity.
• Can I sell or liquidate before the maturity date? While it is easy to turn many investments into cash, liquid markets for some structured products might not exist. If you need to sell your structured note with principal protection before it matures, you might have to do it at a price less than the amount you paid for it, or you may not be able to sell it at all. This is true even if the product has a ticker symbol or has been approved for listing on an exchange.
• Is there a call feature? If so, be sure you understand what can trigger the call and when is the earliest the investment may be called. You will also want to ask your investment professional what might be your game plan in the event your note gets called.
• Are potential gains limited? Some structured notes with principal protection may have limits or caps on the gains you can earn based on the performance of the underlying asset, index or benchmark.
• What are the tax implications? You might wish to consult with a tax advisor to understand the consequences of any particular investment, including imputed interest and any foreign tax consequences.
• How does the pay-out structure work? Is it possible to lose money, or not have any gain at all, even if the underlying asset, index or benchmark goes up? Purchasing a structured note with principal protection does not guarantee positive returns. For example, the underlying asset, index or benchmark might not increase in value—or even if it does, there may be conditions, which in some cases can be counterintuitive, that limit your gains. And, if the entity backing the principal protection at maturity goes bankrupt, you could lose your entire principal.
• What unique risks will I take on as a result of being exposed to the underlying asset, index or benchmark?
• What is the credit risk of the note? Remember that any principal guarantee is subject to the creditworthiness of the guarantor, which is generally the securities firm that structures and issues the note. Be sure to find out as much as you can about the financial condition of the issuer and read its disclosures as carefully as you would for any other bond investment.
• What other risks are associated with this particular product? Be sure you understand how the derivative component of the note impacts the pay-out structure—and ultimately your return.
• What other investment choices are available to me? Carefully consider what might be a good fit for you, and whether there are alternatives to the product you are considering.

Even the simplest sounding products can be pretty complex. Always read a product’s prospectus or disclosure statement carefully. If you can’t understand how the product works, ask your investment professional for help. If you still can’t understand the product, you should think twice about investing in it.

This information which is publicly available on FINRA’s website has been provided by The White Law Group, LLC.  To speak with a securities attorney, 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.

MCL Financial Group Inc. of Santa Ana, Calif, which had 44 registered reps, filed its broker-dealer withdrawal form Tuesday with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc., making it at least the sixth such firm to close this year.

The B-D, which cleared through Legent Clearing LLC, had $2.9 million in revenue in 2010, down form $3.2 million a year earlier, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Meanwhile, the firm posted losses of $10,330 last year and $447,250 in 2009.

Small and midsize broker-dealers have been struggling for a variety of reasons of late. Many that sold illiquid private placements and real estate deals have seen a huge rise in legal costs due to litigation filed by investors.

According to its annual Focus report filed this year with the SEC, MCL generated 26% of its revenue in 2010 from the sale of REITs and 15% from the sale of limited-liability companies, which often take the form of private placements.

According to its profile on Finra’s BrokerCheck system, MCL had no recent actions against it from regulators or substantial losses from Finra arbitrations.

Last year, however, the receiver for bankrupt real estate syndicator DBSI Inc. sued MCL(and more than 90 other broker-dealers) seeking to claw back commissions generated from the sale of wildly popular tenant-in-common exchanges. According to court papers, MCL generated $210,000 in commissions from selling TICs issued by DBSI.

In the Focus report from March, the B-D said it did not expect the resolution of claims against the company to have an adverse affect on the financial position or results of the firm.

At the end of last year, MCL had $90,671 in net capital.

If you have questions about your investments with MCL Financial Group, the securities attorneys of The White Law Group may be able to help.  To speak with a securities attorney, 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 the firm’s website at http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.

The White Law Group is investigating potential securities fraud claims on behalf of investors involving broker-dealers recommendation that investors purchase risky REIT investments, including the G-REIT.

FINRA recently announced that it is paying close attention to the sale of REITs and, in particular, the ways in which broker/dealers marketed and sold the products to investors. In many cases, and notwithstanding the risk of REIT investments, broker-dealers marketed these investments as safe and secure.

REITs typically pay a high commission – often as much as 15% (which often explains the stockbroker’s motivation in recommending the REIT investment to the investor).

The White Law Group’s investigation into the improper sales of REITs to investors includes, but is not limited to, recommendations to invest in the following REITs: Behringer Harvard REIT I, Inland America Real Estate Trust, Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust, Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II, Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Desert Capital REIT, Apple REIT, Crystal River REIT, Cornerstone Core Property REIT and G-REIT.

To determine whether you may be able to recover investment losses incurred as a result of your purchase of a risky REIT investment, please contact The White Law Group 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.

If you have questions about investments you made with any of these firms, the securities attorneys of The White Law Group may be able to help. To speak with a securities attorney, 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..

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm.

The firm has offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.

The White Law Group has its offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida because of the obvious benefits of being located so close to the FINRA Dispute Resolutions offices in those cities (FINRA’s Southeast headquarters is located at Boca Center Tower 1, 5200 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton, FL 33486- less than one mile from the firm’s office), and FINRA’s Midwest headquarters is located at 55 West Monroe Street, Suite 2600, Chicago, IL 60603-1002 (close to the firm’s Chicago office).

Although located in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida, The White Law Group handles securities fraud cases throughout the country and Florida, including reviewing securities fraud cases in Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Sunrise, Parkland, and Deerfield Beach.

To contact The White Law Group for a free consultation, please call 312-238-9650.

Or, for more information about The White Law Group or securities fraud, you can also visit the firm’s website at http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm.

The firm has offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.

The White Law Group has its offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida because of the obvious benefits of being located so close to the FINRA Dispute Resolutions offices in those cities (FINRA’s Southeast headquarters is located at Boca Center Tower 1, 5200 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton, FL 33486- less than one mile from the firm’s office), and FINRA’s Midwest headquarters is located at 55 West Monroe Street, Suite 2600, Chicago, IL 60603-1002 (close to the firm’s Chicago office).

Although located in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida, The White Law Group handles securities fraud cases throughout the country and Illinois, including reviewing securities fraud cases in Evanston, Highland Park, Naperville, Rockford, Buffalo Grove, and Wheaton.

To contact The White Law Group for a free consultation, please call 312-238-9650.

Or, for more information about The White Law Group or securities fraud, you can also visit the firm’s website at http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.

According to a complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wachovia sold the tribe and an individual investor collateralized debt obligations that were tied to the health of residential mortgage-backed securities. The SEC alleged that Wachovia sold the tribe the CDOs at prices that were 70% higher than its own estimate of the mark-to-market value of the securities.

The commission also claimed that Wachovia did not inform investors in another CDO that it had transferred 40 residential mortgage-backed securities from an affiliate at above-market prices to avoid losses on its own books, the commission said.

Wells Fargo, which bought Wachovia in 2008, agreed to pay restitution of $6.75 million and a $4.45 million penalty to settle the charges. Of the total, $7.4 million will be returned to investors who were harmed by the misconduct, the SEC said.

The firm settled the matter without admitting or denying the allegations.

If you have questions about a CMO or CDO investments you purchased through Wachovia Securities or Wells Fargo, the securities attorneys of The White Law Group may be able to help. For a free consultation, 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. With over 30 years of securities law experience, including experience working at FINRA (f/k/a the NASD) and the SEC, The White Law Group has the expertise to help investors and financial advisors in securities litigation matters. If you have questions about the way your investments have been handled, the securities attorneys of The White Law Group may be able to help.

For more information on The White Law Group, visit http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.

Have you suffered investment losses in a Bradford Energy or Oil and Gas Investment? The White Law Group may be able to help.

The White Law Group is investigating potential securities fraud claims on behalf of investors involving various broker-dealers’ recommendation that investors purchase risky oil and gas partnerships like Bradford.

Before recommending an investment, a broker-dealer has a fiduciary duty to adequately disclose the risks involved in the investment and to perform the necessary due diligence to determine whether the investment is suitable for the investor.  It appears that many brokerage firms failed to perform the necessary due diligence with respect to oil and gas partnership and energy investments like Bradford prior to recommending them to their clients.

To determine whether you may be able to recover investment losses incurred as a result of your purchase of a Bradford Energy or Oil and Gas partnership, please contact The White Law Group 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. With over 30 years of securities law experience, including experience working at FINRA (f/k/a the NASD) and the SEC, The White Law Group has the expertise to help investors defrauded in securities, investment and financial business transactions.

For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at http://www.whitesecuritieslaw.com.