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This January 25, 2022 Court decision shows how corrupt FINRA’s dispute resolution process is. We don’t see this kind of a decision often because FINRA arbitrations are conducted behind closed doors, by arbitrators selected through an opaque process, by arbitrators who have virtually unfettered authority to determine the law and facts to apply, and with…

Short selling is selling a share of stock that you do not own. In order to engage in a short sale (with a few exceptions), a short seller is required to locate and borrow a share of stock before it engages in a short sale. Short selling is an artifice that our securities regulators allow…

If you are an investor, how can you research a broker before turning over your hard-earned savings to them? The SEC, FINRA, state securities regulators, and others encourage investors to research a broker before turning over your hard-earned money to that broker to invest. The primary tool that these regulators and others recommend investors use…

With good reason, financial elder abuse has been characterized by some experts as “the crime of the 21st Century.” – Broken Trust: Elders, Family and Finances. Metlife Study, March 2009 The second edition of Aging and Money was just released including a chapter that I co-wrote with Lisa Bleier of SIFMA, entitled Perspectives from Financial…

In recent days, I have been asked a lot of questions about GameStop trading and Robinhood. I have answered some of these questions in interviews available here:  In this post, I am pulling together information for those who want to go deeper into the issues. I will start with an overview of what happened and…

Just before Christmas, the SEC filed insider trading charges against Jason Peltz for trading on nonpublic information he obtained before the March 15, 2016 announcement that a private equity firm had made an offer to acquire Ferro Corp. The SEC alleges that Peltz traded and tipped others who traded on this material nonpublic information. On…

CHICAGO, Ill. — We are in the midst of a world-wide pandemic and millions are out of work. Yet, life goes on, bills need to be paid and credit reporting agencies are still keeping track of who is making their payments on time. Most Americans are no doubt feeling the struggle but one Chicago-based investment…

The U.S. Supreme Court just released its opinion in the Liu v SEC. This was a 8:1 decision, with Justice Thomas the lone dissenter. Here is my brief analysis of the Court’s opinion. I am leaving out the interesting historical discussion in the majority opinion and dissenting opinion about the history of equitable remedies and disgorgement.…

Are you a small business in the state of Illinois that needs a loan to get through the coming months? If so, you might be able to get help from several state programs. Illinois Small Business Emergency Loan Fund The Illinois Small Business Emergency Loan Fund offers small businesses low interest loans of up to…

Many people are understandably concerned about their investments right now (spring 2020). News of the global pandemic is enough to cause the resolve of even the most steadfast investor to falter. Why are Investors at Risk of Making Bad Investment Decisions? We have never had a time where this kind of stress was affecting this…