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HomeSense on Cents 2011 Halls of Fame and Shame
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 1st, 2012 12:41 PM |
America wakes up this morning hopeful for a new year filled with peace and prosperity. Sense on Cents welcomes spreading our spirit of optimism.
Before we move forward, though, let’s take an accounting of 2011 and induct those most deserving into our Sense on Cents’ 2011 Halls of Fame and Shame.
Prior to our induction ceremony today, I am sure there are many in the crowd who may want to review our past award winners. On that note, I humbly submit:
Sense on Cents 2009 Halls of Fame and Shame
From the above Fame and Shame lists, I believe the top three in each Hall deserve special recognition. On that note, the medals go to the following: (more…)
Auction Rate Comments Reflect Real Pain
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 21st, 2011 8:05 AM |
Today’s commentary is a little lengthy but is very personal. I hope you will take the few extra minutes to read it and share it with friends, family, and colleagues. Thanks. LD
Each and every day I think of what I can write that will truly help people further understand the dynamics at work in our global economy. In the course of my writing I am often drawn to specifically help those who have been defrauded or abused by the system that operates on Wall Street and in Washington.
I derive tremendous personal satisfaction in providing an outlet and a sympathetic ear to those who feel that few if any people are in their corner. No group of investors and individuals deserves greater sympathy and a stronger voice than our fellow American citizens so badly mistreated in the entanglement of auction-rate securities.
While many within our nation and the markets today may care to focus on recent earnings reports, a rebounding equity market, or the upcoming long weekend, let us remember that there are thousands in this country who still experience real pain from the ARS scandal. Is it easier to forget about them? If you care.
I choose to reach out to them again and spread their stories of real pain and anguish. Why? (more…)
Raymond James Auction-Rate Losing Streak Continues
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 9th, 2010 6:20 AM |
Oh, to be a fly on the wall at Raymond James.
I can only imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth by Raymond James managers as the firm loses another auction-rate securities ruling. Do you think Ray Jay’s managers are privately cursing out their own legal teams and the judges handing down some recent rulings against the firm? Major developments are breaking in the world of auction-rate securities, and the actions center on Raymond James. Let’s revisit a story I highlighted in late August. (more…)
Raymond 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…)
Raymond James ARS Customer Requests/Offers Help
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 18th, 2010 7:23 AM |
Sense on Cents has been happy to provide a forum for auction-rate securities holders in general. On a more specific note, Sense on Cents has generated significant ARS interest from individuals remaining engaged with Oppenheimer and E*Trade.
We can now add Raymond James to the list of entities entangled in the auction-rate securities cesspool. While I am not in a position to pass judgment on the merits of every specific ARS client’s situation, the simple fact is so many of these situations are strikingly similar.
I am heartened that Sense on Cents has not only been able to provide moral support to many ARS holders but has also been able to pass along meaningful information in the process. In this spirit, I am compelled to highlight two comments left here Monday by an individual who remains frozen in ARS sold by Raymond James. While reading these comments, put yourself in this writer’s position. The fact is this writer and virtually every ARS investors are connected. I hope my highlighting his comments can help bring this individual and many others both moral and real support. (more…)
Raymond James Apology for Auction-Rate Securities
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 7th, 2010 1:25 PM |
A friend of Sense on Cents informed me the other day that Tom James, chairman and chief executive of Raymond James, issued an apology to the firm’s clients involved in the auction-rate securities fiasco. Wow! Given my keen interest in this topic and my empathy for the investors who have been abused by the industry, my heart raced. An apology by the head of a firm the size and scope of Raymond James is deeply meaningful.
Upon review of the article, Tom James Apologizes for Auction Rate Securities Purchases, published in the Tampa Bay Business Journal, I witnessed that it was written January 5th. Breaking news! Then I realized it was written January 5th but 2009!
Regardless of the fact that the article was published a year ago, I continued reading intrigued to learn more about this situation as it stood a year ago. The Tampa Bay Business Journal reported Tom James saying: (more…)
Ignorance Defense Works on Wall Street
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 10th, 2009 8:47 AM |
Ignorance of the law is never an acceptable defense on Main Street; regrettably, the same does not seem to hold true on Wall Street. How so?
A recent auction-rate securities arbitration case involving an investor who purchased ARS from a Raymond James financial representative acknowledges the ignorance of the sales rep, but effectively absolves the firm in the process. The implications of this decision should not be underestimated. The Wall Street Journal sheds further light on this case in a recent review, GETTING PERSONAL: Investor Loses Out In Auction-Rate Case:
A complaint brought by an auction-rate securities investor offers insight into the plight of those stranded in the instruments as well as the arbitration process some investors dread.
Like many investors, Gene McCutchin, a real-estate entrepreneur, was holding auction-rate securities when the $330 billion market froze up in early 2008. He filed a complaint against his broker, Raymond James Financial Services Inc., in September 2008 asserting negligence, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, among other things. He said the brokerage failed to warn him about the risks before his purchase, and he asked for compensation and punitive damages.
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel, in an Oct. 26 resolution, didn’t award damages or order that the share sale be rescinded. It supported some of McCutchin’s assertions, finding that a Raymond James broker, Rick Woolfolk, “was poorly trained with respect to the ARS product,” and it did order the brokerage to pay forum costs.
But the panel also said that McCutchin identified himself as “a sophisticated investor.” While McCutchin wasn’t informed about the extent of risk before the transaction, it was clear that his personal adviser, Dan Chilton, understood that he was buying ARS bonds, and that the higher returns they offered came with higher risk, the panel’s resolution said.
Let’s zero in on the phrase, “wasn’t informed about the extent of the risk before the transaction.” The fact that the FINRA arbitration panel is absolving Raymond James in this transaction, despite the fact that the customer was not informed of all the risks, should send chills down the spine of every investor in our public markets. With that statement, the arbitration panel is sending a message, loud and clear: “Buyer Beware!!” You are on your own.
To mitigate the enormous risk of purchasing an investment that a sales representative may not understand, I would strongly encourage individual investors to do the following: (more…)
