Articles Posted in Municipal Securities

Oriental Financial Services Corp. – South Florida Unsuitable Puerto Rico Bond Investment FINRA Arbitration Attorney:

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) is a self-regulatory authority assigned the responsibility, by the Securities and Exchange Commission, to license, regulate and discipline securities broker/dealers and their employees, including account executives. In the event that FINRA elects to institute an enforcement action, firms and licensed individuals have the responsibility to reflect such action on their U-4 and/or U-5 filings, which can be viewed on the FINRA website under the broker-check section of the site or by viewing the monthly disciplinary information also provided on the FINRA site.

The monthly disciplinary information is referenced on the FINRA site generally in alphabetical order. This post relates to the following company or individuals. If the reader would like to review the entire FINRA release or the broker-check information concerning this matter, you can follow these highlighted links:

Newbridge Securities Corporation – Boca Raton, Florida Corporate and Municipal Bond Abuse FINRA Arbitration Attorney

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) is a self-regulatory authority assigned the responsibility, by the Securities and Exchange Commission, to license, regulate and discipline securities broker/dealers and their employees, including account executives. In the event that FINRA elects to institute an enforcement action, firms and licensed individuals have the responsibility to reflect such action on their U-4 and/or U-5 filings, which can be viewed on the FINRA website under the broker-check section of the site or by viewing the monthly disciplinary information also provided on the FINRA site.

The monthly disciplinary information is referenced on the FINRA site generally in alphabetical order. This post relates to the following company or individuals. If the reader would like to review the entire FINRA release or the broker-check information concerning this matter, you can follow these highlighted links:

Edward Jones to Pay 20 Million for Overcharging Retail Customers in Municipal Bond Underwritings – Boca Raton, Florida FINRA Arbitration Attorney

Edward Jones to Pay $20 Million for Overcharging Retail Customers in Municipal Bond Underwritings

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced that St. Louis-based brokerage firm Edward Jones and the former head of its municipal underwriting desk have agreed to settle charges that they overcharged customers in new municipal bonds sales. It’s the SEC’s first case against an underwriter for pricing-related fraud in the primary market for municipal securities. The firm also was charged with separate misconduct related to supervisory failures in its review of certain secondary market municipal bond trades.

Corporate and Corporate High Yield Bond Breach of Fiduciary, Unsuitability, Churining and Unauthorized Purchase and Sale FINRA Arbitration, Litigation and Probate Attorney:

If you are considering or if your account executive or investment advisor is soliciting you to purchase, hold or sell a corporate bond, you may wish to read this post to refresh your understanding of corporate bonds or, if you are an unsophisticated invesotr, arm youself with questions to ask your investment professional.

What Are Corporate Bonds?

Face Value of Bonds, Notes and Other Types of Securities – South Florida FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney:

When using the term “Face Value” in referring to a security, it means the value as given on the certificate or instrument. For example, corporate bonds are usually issued with $1,000 face values, municipal bonds with $5,000 face values and federal government bonds with $10,000 face values. If these instruments are held to maturity, the investor, absent default, would receive the face value of the instrument. This is not necessarily true if the instrument is sold before maturity as the value of the bonds fluctuate in price from the time that they are issued until redemption. This price fluctuation is based upon a number of factors, including the credit worthiness of the issuer, the interest rate carried by the bond and the length of time until maturity.

Please keep in mind that this information is being provided for educational purposes only. It is not designed to be complete in all material respects. Thus, it should not be relied upon as legal or investment advice. If you have any questions concerning the contents of this post, you should contact a qualified professional.

Common Stocks, Preferred Stocks, Corporate Bonds, Municipal Bonds, Promissory Notes, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF’s), and Mutual Funds – South Florida Securities and Investment Fraud, Negligence and Breach of Fiduciary Duty FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney:

The elements of a breach of fiduciary duty action are (1) the existence of a fiduciary duty and (2) the breach of that duty that was the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s damages. A fiduciary relationship exists when confidence is reposed by one party and trust accepted by the other. Such a relationship exists where confidence is reposed on one side and there is resulting superiority and influence on the other. When a fiduciary relationship has not been created by an express agreement, the question of whether the relationship exists generally depends upon the specific facts and circumstances surrounding the relationship of the parties in a transaction in which they are involved.

The law is clear that a broker owes a fiduciary duty of care and loyalty to a securities investor. The type and extent of this duty is fact specific. In other words, your relationship with, in the case, your broker/dealer and/or account executive will be determinative of the type of duty that you are owed. However, please keep in mind that the extent of this duty is organic. It is constantly changing. It is for this reason that your specific circumstances need to be reviewed by a qualified professional.

Zero Coupon Bond (Security) – Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Delray Beach and West Palm Beach, Florida Corporate and Municipal Bond and Stock Fraud and Misrepresentation FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq.

A Zero Coupon Bond (Security) is investment instrument that makes no periodic interest payments bust instead is sold at a deep discount from its face value.  The buyer of the instrument receives the rate of return by the gradual appreciation of the security, which is redeemed at face value on a specified maturity date. 

There are many kinds of zero-coupon securities.  The most commonly known is the zero-coupon bond, which either may be issued at a deep discount by a corporation or government entity or may be created by a brokerage firm when it strips the coupons off a bond and sells the corpus and the coupons separately. 

SEC Approves Registration Rules for Municipal Advisors

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently voted to adopt rules establishing a permanent registration regime for municipal advisors as required by the Dodd-Frank Act.  The rule is currently slated to become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

The Final Rule:

Securities and Exchange Commission Charges Operator of Miami-Dade County’s Largest Hospital with Misleading Investors about Financial Condition

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) recently charged the operator of the largest hospital in Miami-Dade County with misleading investors about the extent of its deteriorating financial condition prior to an $83 million bond offering.

An SEC investigation found that the Public Health Trust, which is the governing authority for Jackson Health System, misstated present and future revenues due to breakdowns in a new billing system that inaccurately recorded revenue and patient accounts receivable. The Public Health Trust projected a non-operating loss in the official statement accompanying the bond offering in August 2009, but reported a figure that was more than four times lower than what was ultimately reported at the end of the 2009 fiscal year. The Public Health Trust also failed to properly account for an adverse arbitration award, and misrepresented that its financial statements were prepared according to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

Insured Municipal Bond – South Florida Municipal and Corporate Bond Investment Loss and Default FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq.

Insured Municipal Bonds are insured against default be a Municipal Bond Insurance company such as MBIA and AMBAC Indemnity Corporation.  The insurance company pledges to make all of the interest and principal payments, as they become due, if the issuer of the bonds defaults on its payment obligations.  In return, the bond’s issuer pays a premium to the insurance company.  Insured bonds usually trade based on the credit rating of the insurer rather than the rating of the underlying issuer, since the insurance company is ultimately at risk for the repayment of principal and interest.  Insured bonds usually pay slightly lower yields, because of the cost of the insurance than comparable non-insured bonds.

However, the market value of the bond, especially intermediate and long term bonds, is effected by interest rates in much the same manner as non-rated bonds.

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