The Regulators Category

The organizations that regulate the financial services are there to make sure companies, advisors, and representatives adhere to the rules. They are supposed to identify the bad guys and jail them or kick them out the industry. But, don’t count on it! The SEC didn’t catch Madoff in almost 20 years and countless sales representatives have multiple client complaints on their records, but are still actively employed in the industry. The buck still stops with you when it comes to protecting your own assets.

By: Jack WaymirecloseAuthor: Jack Waymire Name: Jack Waymire
Email: jack@InvestorWatchdog.com
Site: http://www.investorwatchdog.com
About: Jack entered the financial services industry as an institutional consultant and later as vice president at Warburg, Paribas, Becker in 1976. From 1983 to 2003 he was the President of Lexington Capital Management and related companies. In December, 2003 John Wiley published his book "Who's Watching Your Money? The 17 Paladin Principles for Selecting a Financial Advisor". In 2004, he founded PaladinRegistry.com, a website that educated investors about financial advisors. A national Registry of pre-screened, five star rated advisors was added to the website later in 2004. In 2009, he founded InvestorWatchdog.com, a website that provides tools and information to investors who use the services of financial planners and financial advisors. Since 2004, Jack has been frequently quoted in the media on topics about financial advisors, Wall Street firms, investment scams, and the financial services industry (BusinessWeek, Forbes, Kiplinger, Washington Post, etc.).See Authors Posts (59) | November 27, 2011 | The Politicians, The Regulators, Wall Street Ethics

It should not be Occupy Wall Street it should be Change Wall Street. And change does not start in New York City it starts in Washington D.C.
“Changers” must identify politicians who protect Wall Street interests and convince them to pass legislation that puts teeth into regulations. Or, vote them out of office.
Stop companies from [...]

By: Matthew Arndt, CFA, CPA, CFP | December 2, 2010 | The Regulators, Wall Street Ethics

After congressional coercion, the Fed has finally revealed what it did with $3.3 trillion in emergency aid in 2008 and 2009. It’s clear why the Fed has been so reluctant to reveal what it did with our money. Banks turned to the Fed for help almost daily in the fall of 2008 as the central [...]

By: DFreecloseAuthor: DFree Name: Debbie Freeman
Email: debbie@paladinregistry.com
Site: http://www.paladinregistry.com
About: See Authors Posts (14) | June 28, 2010 | The Politicians, The Regulators

Before last week’s financial reform bill passed, fee-only Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) acted as acknowledged fiduciaries. RIAs provide full disclosure to investors about how they are compensated and should have no conflicts of interest when working with investors. In other words, they look out for the investor’s needs first and foremost.
Under the new financial reform [...]

By: Matthew Arndt, CFA, CPA, CFP | February 16, 2010 | How to Select Advisors, The Regulators

Many investors are confused about the term investment advice and the different types of professionals who can provide it. Most investors do not understand the differences between investment adviser representatives or brokers calling themselves financial advisers; and the standard of care they think they are receiving from each.
Fee only investment advisers are legally obligated [...]

By: Matthew Arndt, CFA, CPA, CFP | February 5, 2010 | The Regulators, Wall Street Ethics

Just when you thought the ill stench wafting from Wall Street couldn’t get any worse. A recent U.S. report details how large American banks like Citigroup, Bank of America, and JP Morgan Chase facilitated the laundering of hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of corrupt foreign officials who were subjects of criminal investigations into [...]

By: Matthew Arndt, CFA, CPA, CFP | February 1, 2010 | The Politicians, The Regulators

It’s conceptually simple: take away any government protection for stockholders, management and creditors of large financial institutions to help shrink their appetite for risk-taking. For instance, in the case of the Bear Stearns debacle stockholders should have been wiped out; management should have been fired; and the bondholders should have suffered significant losses. Instead, stockholders [...]