NBC4.TV
LOS ANGELES — Marilyn and Dean Aspinal of Orange County are having a financial crisis after losing nearly a quarter of a million dollars in the stock market. They claim their stockbroker recommended investments inappropriate for people about to retire. “He said, ‘I’m going to put you in some technology stocks. We’re going to make […]
Los Angeles Times
When Oscar Bugarini was downsized into early retirement from Boeing Co.’s Long Beach aircraft plant in 1999, he turned his $240,000 in retirement savings over to brokerage Salomon Smith Barney, asking in writing for a conservative portfolio balanced among “value” stocks, bonds and cash. Instead, Bugarini says, he wound up with technology stocks and Salomon-managed […]
Investment News
A common Wall Street practice to encourage clients to take out margin loans has come under fire from plaintiff’s lawyers who claim brokers put their own financial interest ahead of their clients’. To boost margin-loan business, the lawyers claim, some brokerage houses changed the wording on new client account forms while others boosted their broker […]
OnWallstreet.com
Weary from investigations and bad press, the securities industry has gotten tougher with clients who threaten legal actions. Plaintiffs’ attorneys say firms have, for one thing, begun counterclaiming disgruntled investors. This is usually done by requesting that the claimant pay the firm’s attorneys’ fees. One such counterclaim by Merrill Lynch has had a “real chilling […]
Dow Jones Newswires
WASHINGTON — Regulators’ $1.4 billion settlement with Wall Street Friday concluded a potentially expensive and lengthy investigation, but all eyes are now on the potential for private litigation against the firms involved. The settlement requires 10 major investment banks and brokerage firms to pay fines, provide independent research for their customers, end the practice of […]