Many Pennsylvanians are offered long-term disability as an optional employer-provided benefit. When people have long-term disability insurance through their jobs, their benefits plans are covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Plans that are covered...
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Altoona Securities Law Blog
Financial brokers must consider benefits for clients
A new Securities and Exchange Commission regulation will require financial broker-dealers in Pennsylvania and around the country to raise the bar of ethics and legal standards when working with their clients. Brokers must consider the needs and benefits of their...
Securities law and dealing with fraudulent investment vehicles
Investors take risks when putting their money into certain companies. While some endeavors are riskier than others, entirely escaping risk can be nearly impossible when directing funds into private companies. Investors should, however, expect investment entities to...
Public discipline imposed on CFP® professionals
Residents of Pennsylvania might want to read this posting regarding several CFAs that have had disciplinary action taken upon them by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board). They were from several states, however, included among them was...
Regulations surrounding ERISA
Pennsylvania residents may have heard that there is a new rule in the works to help clarify the Department of Labor’s investment duties regulation. For over 30 years, people have asked the Department of Labor to consider how they should apply fiduciary duties towards...
How To Prove Securities Fraud
Securities fraud takes advantage of investors by giving them misinformation that results in losses. This commonly occurs in financial markets, such as stocks, mutual funds, and accounting fraud. Most investors will not be aware they are victims of securities fraud in...
Understanding Ponzi schemes and how to recognize them
A Ponzi scheme is a financial scam that lures investors by promising they can make money fast on their investment with little risk. It works in the same manner as a pyramid scheme by paying the old investors with the money new recruits provide. The scheme can break...
Examples of fiduciary duty and how it works
In the US, including Pennylvania, fiduciary duty means one party acts in the interest of another party, usually involving business transactions, such as being placed in charge of a trust. The other party is often referred to as the principal. The fiduciary has the...
Advisor Group’s SagePoint will pay $1.6M in fines and restitution
According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Advisor Group’s SagePoint Financial will pay over $1.6 million in fines and restitution in connection with premature rollovers of unit investment trusts (UITs). Financial advisors in the U.S., including...
Taking calls from FINRA seriously
Many people are surprised to learn that some enforcement actions pertaining to Pennsylvania securities are not actually done by the government itself. There is a self-regulatory organization called FINRA that has the power to police its own members and can levy fines...
