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im Eccleston is proud to present his new blog, including downloadable podcasts that you can listen to anytime! Make sure to drop a line to Jim in the comments section and keep the discussion going. (Click here for more....)
In Focus
April 6, 2009
e're pleased to be able to post a link to the video, "Retirement Risk Zone", by Manulife. Not because we're promoting the IncomePlus product (unavailable in the U.S. anyway) but instead because the video provides a wonderfully simple explanation of the very important concept of the Sequence of Returns.
(Click here for more....)
Caveat Emptor Broker Search
ASD takes disciplinary actions against firms and individuals for violations of NASD rules; federal securities laws, rules, and regulations; and the rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. These actions range from mere censures to a bar from the securities industry. Please note that many of the reported disciplinary incidents result without the individual having admitted or having denied the allegations, having submitted what is called an "Acceptance, Waiver and Consent". Regarding complaints filed, the NASD issues this disclaimer:
(Click here for more....)
Search here for brokers with significant disciplinary incidents or complaints filed against them:
James Eccleston Discusses Municipal Bonds on First Business
irst Business, a business magazine show highlighting the latest business and finance news, aired a segment about municipal bonds featuring SNSFE partner
James J. Eccleston.
Jim explains that over two-thirds of municipal, or "muni" bonds are owned by private investors, and because there is no uniform standard of accounting, individual investors are at risk of loss.
For more information about the risks of owning municipal bonds, contact James Eccleston at JEccleston@snsfe-law.com or 312.621.4400.
he Securities Law Clinic provides students with an opportunity to develop fundamental investigatory and advocacy skills in the context of the substantive laws governing investments.
Scroll down the iframe below to see the latest news. You can right-click on an article title and then select "Open in New Window", or you can click the link beneath the iframe.
The Million-Dollar Estate & LLCs, Bankruptcy, Trusts
he million-dollar estate is under attack. A divorce, a mishap, a period of unemployment, bad health, high mortgage payments, debts, a lawsuit-any number of scenarios can trigger a downward spiral. Tragically, a nice $1-million estate is at risk of never reaching the next generation of beneficiaries.
(Click here for more....)
DiMeo Schneider & Associates, LLC: Q1 2009: Knowledge College: The Fed and Treasury’s Financial Stability Plan
he Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury continue to take unprecedented policy actions to fight
the worst financial crisis in almost eight decades. The following reviews the newly initiated
Financial Stability Plan. On February 10, 2009, the Financial Stability Plan was unveiled.
(Click here for more....)
SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro Outlines Improvements to Investor Protection and Market Integrity
hairman Mary Schapiro recently testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government on the ways in which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking to restore investor confidence. Her remarks come at a time when both investor protection and market integrity need substantial improvement. Let's highlight the key areas that the SEC is focusing upon.
(Click here for more....)
Leveraged Municipal Bond Arbitrage: What Went Wrong?
he substantial losses suffered by several multi-billion dollar fixed
income hedge funds have brought attention to the risks involved in an
investment strategy known as leveraged municipal bond arbitrage.
Municipal bond arbitrage is a complicated, risky strategy involving trades
of municipal bonds, short term notes, and interest-rate derivatives.
Investment banks marketed these funds to retail investors as high-yielding
alternatives to money market funds or municipal bond funds with little, if
any, additional risk. Not only was this strategy not an arbitrage, it had a
lower expected return to investors and considerably more risk than a simple
investment in the stock market.
(Click here for more....)
SEC's Sanction Against Royal Alliance For Failure to Detect Adviser's Ponzi Scheme Provides Valuable Lessons to Investors and Advisers
he SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has censured Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. and fined it $500,000 due to its failure to supervise one of its former advisers, David McMillan. From at least January, 1999 until December, 2004, McMillan was able to operate a Ponzi scheme and defraud no less than 28 investors "by lying about purchases and sales of securities, by misappropriating funds for his personal use, and by sending certain investors falsified statements relating to their investment accounts." Let's review how McMillan perpetrated this fraud and why the SEC severely has sanctioned Royal Alliance for failing to prevent and/or detect it.
(Click here for more....)
A Handicap of the Investment Performance Horserace
he SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has censured Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. and fined it $500,000 due to its failure to supervise one of its former advisers, David McMillan. From at least January, 1999 until December, 2004, McMillan was able to operate a Ponzi scheme and defraud no less than 28 investors "by lying about purchases and sales of securities, by misappropriating funds for his personal use, and by sending certain investors falsified statements relating to their investment accounts." Let's review how McMillan perpetrated this fraud and why the SEC severely has sanctioned Royal Alliance for failing to prevent and/or detect it.
(Click here for more....)
Planning In Fearful Times
hese are fearful times in which we plan. Set phasers to "stun" as we assemble a landing party and beam down to planet Earth to assess an assortment of alien adversaries affecting financial planning.
(Click here for more....)
All Together Now
o reduce the volatility of returns in a portfolio, planners combine assets that tend to have low correlation to one another. There are many examples of the importance of low correlation. For example, a basketball team needs players with different attributes and talents — the team must be diversified. Building a basketball team with five point guards is not a great idea, as much as we value point guards. A center is needed, as well as several forwards. Because they have different attributes and talents, the correlation between point guards and power forwards is low — and low correlation is what we’re after.
(Click here for more....)
Due Diligence: 10 Steps to Avoiding Ponzi Schemes and Financial Fraud
ernie Madoff is now
behind bars. But the uncovering
of his enormous and
long-running Ponzi scheme,
and the fraud committed by
several other financial hucksters,
highlight the importance
of asking the right
questions and doing your
own due diligence before selecting an advisor
or participating in an investment.
(Click here for more....)
FINRA's Online "Risk Meter" and "Scam Meter" Tools Are Worthwhile
INRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) has a response to what seems to be almost daily revelations of investment fraud and investment scams around the globe. The response is a set of online tools aptly named the "Risk Meter" and the "Scam Meter." I've tested the tools and recommend them to investors. The tools are complemented by a FINRA Investor Alert entitled, "Avoiding Investment Scams." Let's examine the online tools and the investor alert.
(Click here for more....)
Life Insurance Options for Tough Times
ow can one reduce insurance premiums when cash flow is tight in these tough times? Our columnist examines four common types of coverage — term, universal, life, whole life, and variable universal life — and suggests ways to ways to minimize their economic impact.
(Click here for more....)
Freeze, Squeeze & Burn Trusts
nd now for something completely different. A super-charged multi-tasking trust that utilizes readily available techniques and turns them into a totally innovative and effective arrangement.
Estate-planning iconoclast Richard Oshins, key founder of the Inheritor's TrustTM concept, has taken this concept to another level and estate planning may never be the same. His new approach: A beneficiary defective inheritor's trust.
(Click here for more....)
Private Equity Investments Potentially Offer Attractive Returns But With Notable Risks
recent study by three researchers at the Center for International Securities and Derivatives Markets (CISDM) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst examines the advantages and disadvantages of private equity investing. In announcing their findings, Messrs. Schneeweis, Gupta and Szado observe that in North America, investment allocations to private equity among institutional portfolios are expected to grow to more than 7.5 percent of total traditional and alternative asset allocations. That percentage represents a substantial dollar allocation. Let's examine the major findings of the research, as well as its major warnings to prospective investors.
(Click here for more....)
Retirement Income: Repairing the Damage to Assure the Flow
ebalancing is the systematic process of reallocating assets within a portfolio. The objective is to keep each asset’s share of the portfolio in line with predetermined percentages. For example, if a portfolio utilizes five different mutual funds and the goal is for each fund to represent 20% of the total portfolio value, the portfolio will need to be rebalanced periodically to maintain the equal weighting. This is because each fund will not likely have the same return each year. To rebalance, an investor sells shares of the best-performing funds and then uses the proceeds to purchase shares of the worst-performing funds.
(Click here for more....)
(Courtesy of AAII, Feb, 2009 AAII Journal)
UBS' Sale of Structured Notes Promising Protection of Principal Falls Far Short; Investors Must Be On Guard
n a market that has witnessed sales of so-called "structured notes" quadruple in the last four years, no firm is closer to the eye of a major storm than UBS. That's because UBS has sold about $1 billion of these "100 percent principal protected notes" in the United States, only to see their value plummet to 10 to 15 cents on the dollar through secondary market trading. In response, UBS clients have filed complaints and state securities regulators have formed a task force to investigate UBS' sale of these products. Let's examine what went wrong at UBS, and how investors - with accounts at any financial services firm and with all types of structured products - can protect themselves.
(Click here for more....)
Prudent 72(t) Retirement Planning Requires More Than Just Wishful Thinking
dvisers, and their clients, have been warned about "early retirement investment pitches that promise too much." A FINRA Investor Alert has cautioned employees to "look before you leave", and two well-publicized regulatory actions have highlighted problems with misleading sales practices and ineffective supervision. Let's review the warnings, and provide guidance to advisers on how best to stay clear of trouble.
(Click here for more....)
Employees Warned Of Early Retirement Investment Pitches That Promise Too Much
securities regulator, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) has issued an Investor Alert to employees contemplating early retirement in reliance upon early retirement investment pitches. These pitches have been "flawed, even fraudulent", and have caused retirees great financial harm.
(Click here for more....)
elcome to FinancialCounsel.com Investor, your trusted source for for wealth management, financial and legal counsel!
Investments;
im Eccleston is proud to present his new blog, including downloadable podcasts that you can listen to anytime! Make sure to drop a line to Jim in the comments section and keep the discussion going.
ASD takes disciplinary actions against firms and individuals for violations of NASD rules; federal securities laws, rules, and regulations; and the rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. These actions range from mere censures to a bar from the securities industry. Please note that many of the reported disciplinary incidents result without the individual having admitted or having denied the allegations, having submitted what is called an "Acceptance, Waiver and Consent". Regarding complaints filed, the NASD issues this disclaimer:
irst Business, a business magazine show highlighting the latest business and finance news, aired a segment about municipal bonds featuring SNSFE partner
im Eccleston and
he Securities Law Clinic provides students with an opportunity to develop fundamental investigatory and advocacy skills in the context of the substantive laws governing investments.
hairman Mary Schapiro recently testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government on the ways in which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking to restore investor confidence. Her remarks come at a time when both investor protection and market integrity need substantial improvement. Let's highlight the key areas that the SEC is focusing upon.
ernie Madoff is now
behind bars. But the uncovering
of his enormous and
long-running Ponzi scheme,
and the fraud committed by
several other financial hucksters,
highlight the importance
of asking the right
questions and doing your
own due diligence before selecting an advisor
or participating in an investment.
ow can one reduce insurance premiums when cash flow is tight in these tough times? Our columnist examines four common types of coverage — term, universal, life, whole life, and variable universal life — and suggests ways to ways to minimize their economic impact.
nd now for something completely different. A super-charged multi-tasking trust that utilizes readily available techniques and turns them into a totally innovative and effective arrangement.
Estate-planning iconoclast Richard Oshins, key founder of the Inheritor's TrustTM concept, has taken this concept to another level and estate planning may never be the same. His new approach: A beneficiary defective inheritor's trust.
ebalancing is the systematic process of reallocating assets within a portfolio. The objective is to keep each asset’s share of the portfolio in line with predetermined percentages. For example, if a portfolio utilizes five different mutual funds and the goal is for each fund to represent 20% of the total portfolio value, the portfolio will need to be rebalanced periodically to maintain the equal weighting. This is because each fund will not likely have the same return each year. To rebalance, an investor sells shares of the best-performing funds and then uses the proceeds to purchase shares of the worst-performing funds.
n a market that has witnessed sales of so-called "structured notes" quadruple in the last four years, no firm is closer to the eye of a major storm than UBS. That's because UBS has sold about $1 billion of these "100 percent principal protected notes" in the United States, only to see their value plummet to 10 to 15 cents on the dollar through secondary market trading. In response, UBS clients have filed complaints and state securities regulators have formed a task force to investigate UBS' sale of these products. Let's examine what went wrong at UBS, and how investors - with accounts at any financial services firm and with all types of structured products - can protect themselves.
