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HomeSense on Cents Endorses H.R. 3482: Restoring Main Street Investor Protection and Confidence Act
Posted by Larry Doyle on December 16th, 2013 10:10 AM |
A year ago, I strongly endorsed H.R. 757 to restore credibility to the Securities Investor Protection Act that had been decimated by the manner in which the Madoff trustee went about its business.
That act went into committee at year-end 2012 and died there, strangled by those legislators feeding at the financial industry’s trough. Fortunately, the forces behind 757 are not easily swayed and they are back with H.R. 3482, legislation entitled as “Restoring Main Street Investor Protection and Confidence Act.”
I welcome endorsing it. Why? (more…)
Only If The Price is Right
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 15th, 2013 11:16 AM |
Regulators and the general media have a way of vilifying people and products in a manner that strikes me as overly simplistic.
All too often, I see situations in which those charged with protecting the public interest take a belated “ready, shoot, aim” approach and promote that as upholding their mandate.
Well, years after the crisis that took down our global economy, we remain mired in a sea of captured regulators and compliant media.
I maintain that to a large extent, investors — and consumers as well — remain largely on their own in terms of meaningful investor education and protection. (more…)
Sucker Born Every Minute: Top Ten Investor ‘Threats’
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 5th, 2013 8:41 AM |
“A con artist will use every trick in the book to take advantage of unsuspecting investors, including exploiting well-intended laws, in order to fatten their wallets.”
– NASAA Past-President Jack E. Herstein
“There’s a sucker born every minute.”
Although widely attributed to the 19th century showman P.T. Barnum, the above oft-referenced quote was actually delivered by Barnum’s main competitor, George Hull of Binghamton, New York. While Hull played his elaborate scam of discovering a giant back in 1869, there are no less sophisticated cons at work this very minute.
The North American Securities Administrators Association cautions investors about the following top investor threats from 2012. In true David Letterman fashion, let’s count down the Top Ten: (more…)
Support H.R. 757 for Real Investor Protection
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 5th, 2012 8:47 AM |
All too often I have heard over the last few years from investors violated by the Wall Street-Washington incestuous process and feeling totally disenfranchised as a result. Why have investors gotten trampled?
Great question and worthy of widespread debate and discussion. In an attempt to narrow our focus today, let’s zero in on the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, the organization designed to:
restoring funds to investors with assets in the hands of bankrupt and otherwise financially troubled brokerage firms. The Securities Investor Protection Corporation was not chartered by Congress to combat fraud.
From where does SIPC raise its funds in order to offer this protection to investors? (more…)
Will Whistleblower Protections Suffer at Hands of Rep. Michael Grimm “Reaper” (R-NY)?
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 7th, 2012 11:14 AM |
Representative Michael Grimm (R-NY) was ceremoniously inducted into the Sense on Cents Hall of Shame in May 2011. Not that I ever believed there was reason to doubt his induction, but recently I witnessed further reason to cement his status in the elevated ranks of shame.
As regular readers are fully aware, I write passionately about pursuing the truth while promoting investor education and investor protection. The history of the last few years has shown that the financial services industry has not exactly shared our passion.
Who has shared the passion and took very real professional risk in the process? Numerous and sundry whistleblowers. (more…)
An Insider’s Perspective on Insider Trading: “Everyone Doesn’t Belong on Wall Street”
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 26th, 2010 8:16 AM |
The Man in the Arena, written by Teddy Roosevelt in 1910, is certainly one of my favorite passages from history.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
I thought of this passage in light of a communication I received from a regular reader of Sense on Cents. This reader wrote to me in response to my recent commentaries and appearance on CNBC discussing the ongoing insider trading investigation. This individual had a long and distinguished career on Wall Street. (more…)
CNBC Appearance This Afternoon at 2:40pm >>> UPDATED with Video
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 24th, 2010 10:44 AM |
***Update: video clip included below
If you’ve got some time this afternoon, please check in to CNBC’s Street Signs at 2:40pm as I will be discussing the recent insider trading probe and the implications it has on our markets.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to grab a video clip of the segment to post later today or tomorrow.
Larry Doyle
Please subscribe to all my work via e-mail, an RSS feed, on Twitter or Facebook.
I have no affiliation or business interest with any entity referenced in this commentary. As President of Greenwich Investment Management, an SEC regulated privately held registered investment adviser, I am merely a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.
Now More Than Ever, ‘Caveat Emptor’
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 9th, 2010 6:29 AM |
A resounding theme on Wall Street currently is the decline in overall volumes. This reality is not only happening in the equity markets but in virtually every corner of the financial services industry. What happens as a result? Pressure from management increases to ‘make the numbers.’ That pressure is transferred to clients in a subtle or often not so subtle fashion. In addition to the pressure to transact, investors need to be increasingly on guard against practices which will generate greater margins and revenue for brokers and financial planners but leave you with nothing more than larger fees and expenses.
Once again, ‘caveat emptor’ is the order of the day. What are some of the practices investors need to be particularly attuned to at this time? Our friendly Investing Primer, Investopedia provides a nice summation of 4 Dishonest Broker Tactics and How to Avoid Them,
Here we look at the most unscrupulous practices brokers have used to boost their commissions and push poor-quality investments onto unsuspecting investors. (more…)
