Posts belonging to Category Employment Issues
Posted by J. Boyd PageonMarch 2, 2013
J. P. Morgan Chase has announced plans to cut 17,000 jobs over a two-year period and cut $1 billion of expenses this year. The announcement was made at an Investor Day presentation in New York. The bank employs nearly 260,000 people worldwide. Over the past several years, CEO Jamie Dimon reportedly had been adamant that [...]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Economy, Employment Issues, Investment Advisers, J. P. Morgan Chase, Jobs, Market Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by J. Boyd PageonFebruary 28, 2013
Financial advisers continue to object to a recent rule that grants securities regulators more access to potentially relevant documents under the adviser’s control. The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a rule change proposed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) that significantly increases FINRA’s ability to discover a member firm’s documents. FINRA is now [...]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Employment Issues, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Jobs, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by J. Boyd PageonFebruary 25, 2013
Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay $12 million to settle wage and hour class action lawsuits filed by employees seeking compensation for overtime. The period in dispute is between 2010 and 2012. The employees are referred to as “client associates,” whose job is to support the financial advisers by serving clients and developing new business [...]
Categories: Bank of America, Brokerage Firms, Economy, Employment Issues, Investment Advisers, Jobs, Market Developments, Merrill Lynch, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by J. Boyd PageonFebruary 14, 2013
The number of brokers switching firms is expected to be higher than average this year for a number of reasons. Among the reasons is a proposed new rule requiring brokers to disclose signing bonuses to clients, which is viewed as very likely to be approved. If brokers switch firms before the rule becomes effective, they [...]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Economy, Employment Issues, Investment Advisers, Investor Alerts, Jobs, Market Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonDecember 13, 2012
The internet (like automation) is a blessing and a curse. On the curse side, sometimes bad things happen to good people. A financial adviser may be named in a splashy lawsuit and then quietly dropped later when it turns out others were to blame ? but the original story pops up on page 1 of [...]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Employment Issues, Investment Advisers, Jobs, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonNovember 30, 2012
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is considering a rule change that would require firms to disclose brokers’ recruitment compensation packages to transferring customers. Brokers who are recruited to change firms often receive financial incentives that may subtly encorage them to engage in unlawful sales practices, such as churning and unsuitable sales, in order to generate [...]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Churning, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Employment Issues, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Investor Rights, Misrepresentation/Omission, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonOctober 31, 2012
UBS has announced a major a cost-cutting overhaul that will eliminate 10,000 jobs. The positions will be eliminated mostly from its investment banking division. UBS cited increased regulatory capital requirements and persistent problems in the global economy as reasons for the cuts. The move also follows scandals involving the investment banking division, including a $2.3 [...]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Economy, Employment Issues, Investment Advisers, Jobs, Market Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, UBS
Posted by Page PerryonOctober 26, 2012
Even senior Wall Street bank employees are finding the new whistleblower laws beneficial. Wall Street banks fought tooth and against the Dodd-Frank whistleblower protections. The big banks claimed that protecting employees who report violations to outsiders would compromise their own supposedly robust internal reporting and compliance programs. But critics responded that Wall Street banks simply [...]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Employment Issues, Financial Industry Whistleblowers, Investment Advisers, SEC Whistleblowers, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation
Posted by Page PerryonOctober 16, 2012
Equifax and NCR have reportedly joined a growing number of large U.S. corporations that are offering employees lump sum payouts in lieu of their guaranteed, lifetime monthly pension payments. Other notable companies offering pension buyouts include General Motors, Ford, Sears, Archer Daniels Midland, automotive industry supplier Visteon, and the New York Times Co.
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Early Retirement Scams, Elder Abuses, Employment Issues, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools, Unsuitable Recommendations
Posted by Page PerryonOctober 15, 2012
Investors beware – advisers who make up or inflate their credentials are committing fraud upon their clients. This is often the first step leading to the devastating losses to investors we read about almost every day. Overburdened and underfunded though they are, the SEC announced that it will take action to combat this growing problem.
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Early Retirement Scams, Elder Abuses, Employment Issues, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Regulatory Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, Smart Investing Tools
Posted by Page PerryonSeptember 20, 2012
Serious questions have been raised regarding the accuracy of the United States reported 8.1 percent unemployment rate. In fact, one respected expert has stated that the real unemployment rate in the United States is probably 16 percent.
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Economy, Employment Issues, Investment Advisers, Jobs, Market Developments, Smart Investing Tools
Posted by Page PerryonSeptember 18, 2012
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida confirmed an award in favor of two former financial advisers and against Merrill Lynch in the amount of $10,250,000. Merrill Lynch had petitioned the district court to vacate the award arguing, in essence, that the record of the arbitration proceeding demonstrated bias on the part [...]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Employment Issues, ERISA Fiduciaries and Claims, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Market Developments, Merrill Lynch, Securities/Commodities Arbitration
Posted by Page PerryonAugust 27, 2012
While sometimes perception and reality are the same, perception and reality are very different when it comes to the lifestyle expectations of ordinary Americans. Ever since World War II there has been the expectation of upward mobility for future generations. That is how we see ourselves. Realistically that is not true anymore. The rich are [...]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Economy, Employment Issues, Jobs, Market Developments
Posted by Page PerryonAugust 6, 2012
A former UBS research analyst has filed a lawsuit filed against the bank alleging that he was fired for refusing to write inaccurate research reports to benefit (or avoid harming) UBS’s trading positions in the commercial mortgage-backed securities market. The analyst reportedly seeks reinstatement with 2.5 times accrued back pay. (“Former UBS Research Analyst Sues [...]
Categories: Alternative Investments, Brokerage Firms, Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities, Common Securities Broker Abuses, Employment Issues, Fairness/Just & Equitable Conduct, Financial Industry Whistleblowers, Investigations, Investment Advisers, Investment Malpractice, Investor Alerts, Misrepresentation/Omission, Mortgage Backed Securities, SEC Whistleblowers, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation, UBS
Posted by Page PerryonJuly 24, 2012
Many developed nations have borrowed and spent beyond their ability to repay their debt. Central banks around the world are faced with complex decisions on the best policies to improve liquidity. When economists weigh in with solutions, they fall into one of two groups ? those who want to borrow more and put more money [...]
Categories: Brokerage Firms, Economy, Employment Issues, Investment Advisers, Jobs, Market Developments, Securities, Securities/Commodities Arbitration, Securities/Commodities Litigation