Archive for May, 2010

FINRA Cautions Advisors Selling Reverse Convertible Notes

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is examining brokerage firm sales practices for reverse convertible notes (RCN) and warning advisors of their obligations to investors. RCNs are a type of structured product that are comprised of high-yield, short-term notes of an issuer and a put-option that is linked to the performance of an unrelated asset [...]

Principle Protected Notes Failed To Protect Principle

Investors across the country are successfully alleging that financial advisors and brokerage firms misrepresented the known risks in principle protected notes (PPNs). Investors are alleging that their financial advisors failed to disclose the risks inherent in this complex structured product. PPNs were marketed to investors as safe investments that provided the return of their principle [...]

Lehman Notes

Napoli Bern Ripka LLP is currently seeking clients who have incurred losses in investments in Lehman Brothers notes. In December, a small investor was awarded $200,000 after a Financial Industry Regulation Authority (FINRA) panel decided her UBS AG broker inappropriately sold her risky Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. principal-protected notes. The case is one of the [...]

Citigroup Hedge Funds

Napoli Bern Ripka LLP is currently seeking clients who have lost money investing in Citigroup hedge funds. Citigroup managed a number of hedge funds that experienced significant declines, including ASTA Funds, MAT Funds, and Falcon Strategies. The ASTA and MAT Funds were marketed to investors as relatively low-risk, conservative funds that invested in fixed-income investments [...]

Brookstone Securities

Napoli Bern Ripka LLP is currently seeking clients who have incurred losses due to mismanagement of assets by Brookstone Securities and its representative, Richard Buswell. Buswell allegedly grossly overstated clients’ potential earnings, received higher than expected commissions, and convinced clients to invest in companies from which he received commissions. Buswell is also accused of making [...]

Oppenheimer Champion Income Fund – OPCHX

Napoli Bern Ripka LLP is currently seeking clients who have incurred losses due to mismanagement of assets by Oppenheimer Funds, and in particular, the Oppenheimer Champion Income Fund. This fund was marketed to investors as being a diversified, conservative high-income fund. Unbeknownst to many investors and without the approval of shareholders, the fund invested over [...]

Breach of Promissory Note

Napoli Bern Ripka LLP is currently seeking clients who have incurred losses as a result of breach of promissory note. Our firm has been extremely successful in representing financial services firms whose financial advisors have defected without repaying promissory notes. Financial services firms often pay newly hired advisors a certain amount of money in cash [...]

State Street Corp.

At least five entities have already filed lawsuits against State Street in connection with losses in the company’s fixed income strategies, particularly relating to exposure to the mortgage and sub-prime mortgage markets. For example, in January 2007 the Houston Police Officers’ Pensions System filed suit against State Street Bank and Trust Company and State Street [...]