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HomeRaymond James Taking Center Stage in ARS Tragedy
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 27th, 2010 12:05 PM |
The play that has more acts and actors than the longest running shows on Broadway is regrettably anything but entertaining.
Although the entire financial industry would clearly hope it could wake up from the nightmare known as auction-rate securities, the fact is this ongoing saga is no bad dream but a very real tragedy. Which player seems to be taking center stage in this ongoing epic disaster? Enter stage right, Raymond James.
A month ago, we witnessed in a WSJ review, Raymond James Ordered to Buy Back Auction-Rate Securities:
An arbitration panel ordered two units of Raymond James Financial Inc. to buy back $2.5 million in auction-rate securities from an investor. (more…)
Thank You!
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 7th, 2010 7:50 AM |
I am forever humbled when people read and comment at Sense on Cents.
What is the fuel that drives Sense on Cents? An insatiable competitiveness on my part. My desire to help people. My personal intellectual curiousity to learn more about a wide array of market and economic topics. That said, the fact that people continue to read, share, and comment on my writing is the ultimate fuel that drives this blog/website. Your interests drive my interests. In short, we are helping each other.
Given my recent professional move to Greenwich Investment Management, along with my ongoing desire to maintain and grow my blog/website, I am even more indebted to those who provide an extra set of eyes and ears to topics that fall under the heading of real “sense on cents.” This form of leverage is truly a practice in which there are no losers. Thank you!
I reference this point of leveraging based on the recent letters and commentary I have had with the likes of Gary Aguirre, various auction-rate securities holders, and many others. Please do not be bashful in writing me and sharing your stories and situations, especially if they may help a wider audience. While obviously protecting personal identities, I am happy to run commentary that serves all our interests.
On that note, thank you again! Now, I am off for the day as my better half and I are going to pick up our 11 year old son at camp. I can’t wait to see our boy!!
Have a great day . . . and keep spreading the ’sense on cents.’
THANK YOU!
LD
“E*Trade, Can You Hear Us Now?”
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 2nd, 2010 1:58 PM |
Keep punchin’!!
These words to live by resonate in my ears. How so? My Dad has ended almost every conversation — and certainly every meaningful conversation — in my close to 50 years with those words of wisdom and encouragement. When times are challenging or I find myself encountering a particular hurdle, the little voice in the back of my head whispers those two little words.
I find myself thinking of my Dad’s motivation when I read of specific cases of financial malfeasance. In fact, I have told many people that I write so often about the travesty surrounding the auction-rate securities debacle because I feel these investors have been largely disenfranchised. I welcome speaking up on their behalf. In the process of speaking up and continuing to punch, I have met some amazing people who continue to keep punching themselves. One particular ARS holder stands out for his own determination. He was integral to the complaint filed by Colorado State Securities Commissioner Fred Joseph against E*Trade. (more…)
E*Trade: “E”xemplary or “E”gregious??
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 16th, 2010 8:42 PM |
QUESTION: What does the “E” in E*Trade Securities LLC really stand for?
ANSWER: Choice 1 or 2
1: Exemplary…….. If they announce how they will redeem their client’s funds still frozen after 30 months in Auction Rate Securities.
2: Egregious……… if they fail to rescind or redeem all of the Auction Rate Security purchases that some of their brokers fraudulently solicited in 2007, by failing to disclose the risks and potential lack of liquidity, and marketing them to be as safe as cash equivalents or money market funds.
As of now, E*Trade is in a race to the bottom amongst all of its peers in failing to even address the problem or work towards a solution. Does E*Trade have no integrity whatsoever? Come on E*Trade, do the right thing!!
MAKE YOUR ARS CUSTOMERS WHOLE!!!
*********************************************************
On behalf of auction-rate securities investors everywhere, I am happy to run this ad here at Sense on Cents. This specific ad was submitted by a group of E*Trade clients. – LD
Oppenheimer: Do the Right Thing, Redeem Your Auction-Rate Securities
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 30th, 2010 5:14 PM |
Q: Which full-service brokerage firm has NOT redeemed their clients stuck in auction-rate securities for the past 28 months?
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Wachovia, Bank of America, Oppenheimer, TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, Merrill Lynch, UBS?
A: Oppenheimer & Company is the only one of these institutions that has not redeemed their private clients’ Auction-Rate Securities that were fraudulently marketed as “just like cash.”
OPPENHEIMER: DO THE RIGHT THING!!!
Q: Which full-service brokerage firm has NOT redeemed their clients stuck in auction-rate securities for the past 28 months?
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Wachovia, Bank of America, Oppenheimer, TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, Merrill Lynch, UBS?
A: Oppenheimer & Company is the only one of these institutions that has not redeemed their private clients’ Auction-Rate Securities that were fraudulently marketed as “just like cash.”
OPPENHEIMER: DO THE RIGHT THING!!!
On behalf of auction-rate securities investors everywhere, I am happy to run this ad here at Sense on Cents!! This specific ad was submitted by a group of Oppenheimer clients.
LD
At the Corner of Wall Street and the Gulf of Mexico
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 16th, 2010 9:43 AM |
The distance from the canyons of lower Manhattan to the now soiled beaches of the Gulf Coast runs about 1300 miles. A long way and decidedly different lifestyles, you may think? I do not think so. In very real terms, the economic disasters centered in each of these locales are virtually contiguous.
As I watched a replay of President Obama’s speech last evening (Red Sox and Celtics games took priority until both those games were effectively decided), I was struck by one segment of Obama’s speech and the stark similarity in the disasters centered on Wall Street and the Gulf. Which segment and which similarity? (more…)
Another Oppenheimer ARS Investor Unloads on New York AG Cuomo
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 8th, 2010 8:12 AM |
Investors defrauded in the distribution of auction-rate securities deserve a voice. Sense on Cents is happy to provide it. Aside from feeling screwed by Wall Street banks and money managers in the distribution of auction-rate securities as a cash surrogate, investors now feel increasingly incensed by the lack of support in the judicial system and in selected attorneys general offices in our country.
The latest AG to feel the wrath of ARS investors is New York AG Andrew Cuomo for his recent settlement with Oppenheimer Holdings. Rather than reading my opinion of Cuomo’s settlement, let’s listen to an investor (who remains nameless for obvious reasons). In my opinion, this individual’s letter speaks volumes and echoes the sentiments of thousands of investors who continue to hold the $150 BILLION in frozen ARS. (more…)
Did Hawaii Purchase ARS from FINRA through Citi?
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 4th, 2010 7:29 AM |
The auction-rate securities market did not instantaneously freeze in early 2008. The fact is, the ARS market started to fail in mid-2007 on the heels of a variety of market segments repricing given the liquidity issues on Wall Street. Recall that mortgage hedge funds at Bear Stearns cratered in spring 2007. At that point, Wall Street was becoming much more risk averse while shepherding the use of its own capital and balance sheets. During this point in time, the ARS market started to fail and ultimately totally froze in early 2008.
Evidence is rampant that Wall Street worked feverishly from mid-2007 until early 2008 to offload auction-rate securities anywhere and everywhere without informing investors of the failing nature of the market. (more…)
WSJ Hits Mary Schapiro Hard on ‘Say on Pay’ but That’s Only Tip of the Iceberg
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 20th, 2010 11:58 AM |
The target on SEC Chair Mary Schapiro’s back is getting larger and gaining more focus. How so?
The lead editorial in this weekend’s edition of The Wall Street Journal goes after Schapiro hard in writing, Mary Schapiro’s Say on Pay. While the editorial leads with the ongoing battle Schapiro and the SEC are having with Bank of America’s lack of disclosure during its merger with Merrill Lynch, the Journal quickly turns the tables on Ms. Schapiro and addresses the lack of disclosure at Ms. Schapiro’s former haunt, FINRA.
Come to papa.
Regular readers of Sense on Cents are well aware of how consistently and steadily I have been banging this FINRA drum. It is long past due that America is truly introduced to Wall Street’s self-regulatory organization, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). (more…)
ARS UPDATE: David Shulman Gets Off Easy
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 18th, 2010 1:10 PM |
Are cracks developing in the Wall Street facade covering the fraud which encompassed the auction-rate securities market? While thousands of investors with upwards of $150 billion remain frozen in their auction-rate securities holdings, a hint of progress seems to be developing on the legal front addressing this sector. How so?
David Shulman, former sales manager at UBS, just settled an outstanding claim that he effectively front ran the ARS market in December 2007. This claim was brought by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Bloomberg highlights this story in writing, Former UBS Muni Chief Settles Probe for $2.75 Million:
David Shulman, UBS AG’s former global head of municipal securities, agreed to pay $2.75 million to settle a probe by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in connection with the sale of auction-rate securities before the market collapsed in February 2008. (more…)
