[  This is a personal non-profit online research library and is solely used by Scott Bryan Hill.  Some of the links on this page lead to outside resources and the presence of these links should not be taken as an endorsement.  ]

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

( Symbol Guide )

 [ A ]

A Broker's Empty Promise, a Retiree's Shattered Dream, Brooke A. Masters, The New York Times, April 18, 2004.  “Norman Huff spent 30 years working jackhammers, backhoes and other heavy construction equipment at the East Ohio Gas Company. When it offered him an early retirement package in April 2000, he was tempted but nervous: he had $386,000 in his retirement account, mostly in company stock, but he and his wife, Wilma, worried that this would not be enough if he were to quit his $40,000-a-year job.  Then Mr. Huff was invited to a retirement seminar at the Brookside Country Club near his home in rural Dalton, Ohio. Michael G. Dobbins, a vice president and broker at a local branch of Prudential Securities, addressed 50 to 75 prospective retirees from East Ohio Gas, suggesting that they could accept their company's buyout packages, invest their savings in a portfolio of stocks he favored and live comfortably on the earnings.”   (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

A Tale of a Broker, His Clients And the End of the Bubble Era, Jacob M. Schlesinger and Bryan Grulley, The Wall Street Journal, December 27, 2002.   “In the search for what went wrong in the stock boom-gone-bust, debates have focused on greedy executives, corrupt accountants and lax regulators. But the bubble never would have inflated without ordinary Americans -- like Mr. Randall and some of his clients: Ms. Walker, divorce lawyer Robert E. Holmes Jr., and contractor James Lundy Jr. and his son, J.R.  In the 1990s, the number of Americans owning stock swelled by 30 million to more than 80 million, a mania unseen since the 1920s. The new national passion suffused the circle of investors who revolved around Mr. Randall, 40. The native Texan was a bored banker who joined Merrill Lynch in 1995, just as the boom in tech and telecom stocks was gathering force. He persuaded friends and family to join him on the ride to riches.”   (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

As Investors Win Arbitrations, Brokerage Houses Keep Paying:  Wall Street's Big Houses Find Small Investors Get Payback With a Blizzard of Arbitrations, Susanne Craig, The Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2004.  “The pain isn't over for Wall Street's big brokerage houses.  Last year, 10 big brokerage firms, including Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan Stanley, agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle allegations that they issued overly optimistic research in an attempt to win more-lucrative investment-banking business.  But very little of this money has trickled down to the small investors who actually bought these stocks, prompting clients of these firms to take their beefs into arbitration, the main forum for customer complaints."   (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

 [ B ]

Basic Training Doesn't Guard Against Insurance Pitch to G.I.'s, Diana B. Henriques, The New York Times, July 20, 2004.  “N icholas Stachler was 19 years old when he reported for basic training with the Army at Fort Benning, Ga., before shipping out for 11 months to Iraq.  A gentle, trusting man, he had only weeks earlier graduated from high school with a handful of trophies in hockey and soccer, middling grades and hardly a clue about how to handle his money. He had held only casual jobs baby-sitting and mowing lawns and had never opened a checking account. The bus trip to boot camp, from the foothills of the Appalachians in southern Ohio to the kudzu-covered fields of western Georgia, took him farther from home than he had ever been.  About six weeks into his training - six weeks of combat drills and drummed-in lessons in Army ways - he tasted one of the less-honorable traditions of military life: a compulsory classroom briefing on personal finance that was a life insurance sales pitch in disguise.”  (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

Brokerages Sell Advice, Yet Shun Legal Responsibility, Lynn Cowan, The Wall Street Journal, January 6, 2004.  “When Robert Kadar was searching for a brokerage firm in 2000 that could help him manage his large chunk of stock options, Banc of America Securities won him over by promising a team of experts would carefully monitor and manage his account.  Three years later, the same firm had a different view of its role in Kadar's life: in arguments before a New York Stock Exchange arbitration panel, Banc of America Securities claimed that its only legal responsibility was to execute trades properly, with no duty to offer advice or warnings about investments.”  (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

Brokers in Sheep's Clothing, Edward P. Mahaffy, Barron’s, August 21, 2004.  “Is your trusted adviser really just a salesperson? Sometimes it's hard to tell, given all the titles used by brokers: financial adviser, financial consultant and financial planner, to name just a few. Many of these sound quite similar to "investment adviser" -- but there's a big difference. Investment advisers, unlike brokers, have a fiduciary duty to their clients. That means they have a legal obligation to place the client's interests ahead of their own, and to clearly identify all sources of compensation, the amount of compensation and any potential conflicts of interest. It's all laid out in the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.”   (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

Bye-Bye, Small Fry:  Brokers Increasingly Concentrate on the Rich, Anitha Reddy, The Washington Post, May 18, 2003.  "Three years ago, Wall Street brokers had one message for small investors: Buy, buy, buy. Two years ago, everybody found out that the message should have been: Sell, sell, sell. Now the message appears to be simply: Goodbye.  To achieve these lower fees and higher profits, however, firms have to assign a huge number of small investors to a relatively tiny number of brokers. At Merrill Lynch's two call centers, 300 brokers serve 1 million retail investors. The rest of the firm's brokers, 14,000 in all, serve the 8 million clients who have more than $100,000, and often much more, with the firm. So that's about 2 percent of Merrill's brokers working with 11 percent of the firm's client base."   (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

 [ C ]

Caution: This Hybrid Can Sting, Gretchen Morgenson, The New York Times, March 9, 2003.  "Merrill's moves to become a financial superstore may well improve the firm's profitability, making it less vulnerable to the unrelenting bear market. But some of the new offerings are having the opposite effect on some clients. At least two dozen who have used the loan services that Merrill began offering several years ago are now bringing arbitration cases against it. The melding of brokerage and banking services, they argue, left them with bigger losses than they would have incurred had they simply used traditional brokerage accounts."    (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

Claim Says Morgan Stanley Got Kickbacks to Push Some Products, Susanne Craig and Ian McDonald, The Wall Street Journal, January 7, 2004.  “A new arbitration claim asserts that Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley received hidden incentives from several big insurance companies to push certain variable annuities and other investment products.  "Rather than placing the interests of their customers first -- as it is required to do -- Morgan Stanley put its interests first by acting in a manner that was designed to maximize the kickbacks it received under [a] distribution agreement," lawyer Ron Marron alleges in a complaint filed on behalf of a client he says bought two variable annuities from Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. that performed poorly and were unsuitable for the client's needs. He says Morgan was motivated to sell his client this product because of undisclosed payments the firm was getting.”   (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

 [ D ]

 [ E ]

Edward Jones Agrees to Settle Host of Charges, Laura Johannes, John Hechinger and Deborah Solomon, The Wall Street Journal, December 21, 2004.  “Edward D. Jones & Co. agreed to pay $75 million to settle regulatory charges that it steered investors to seven "preferred" mutual-fund groups, without telling the investors that the firm received hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation from those funds.  The settlement, tentatively agreed to by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Association of Securities Dealers and the New York Stock Exchange, represents the largest regulatory settlement to date involving revenue sharing at a brokerage house, an industry practice in which mutual-fund companies pay brokerage houses to induce them to push their products.”  (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

Ex-Merrill Broker's Losing Game Costs the Firm Nearly $19 Million, Randall Smith, The Wall Street Journal, February 15, 2002.  "Helen Evers had nearly $1 million in savings when she met broker Tania Torruella in 1999. The disabled Ms. Evers, 56 years old, said she wanted a healthy income from conservative investments to support her and her invalid mother. "  (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

 [ F ]

Financial Plans: Selling For In-House Gains?, Ruth Simon, The New York Times, February 8, 2004.  “John Haritos Jr. was looking to cut his tax bills and save for retirement when he agreed to a free financial consultation with American Express Financial Advisors. Told his finances wouldn't allow him to meet his retirement goals, Mr. Haritos, 37 years old, paid $500 in July 2000 for a financial plan. Recalls Mr. Haritos: "I figured I was paying for ... unbiased advice."  He now says he figured wrong.  What did Mr. Haritos get? A laundry list of American Express products he should buy. So he moved $26,000 from a money-market fund into a brokerage account that charged a flat 1.5% a year and invested largely in high-fee mutual funds. He also transferred his $4,000 individual retirement account to American Express and rolled a life-insurance policy into an annuity run by IDS, also a unit of American Express Co. Nearly all of the investments, which generated high fees for AmEx and its advisers, fared poorly."  (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

For Ederly Investors, Instant Experts Abound, Charles Duhigg, The New York Times, July 8, 2007.  “Elderly clients thought they had every reason to trust Michael DelMonico as a financial counselor. After all, the Massachusetts insurance agent had become a certified senior adviser in 2002, a credential he made sure to advertise on fliers sent to retirees.  He did not mention how easy it had been to get that title.”  (Financial Firms and Financial Planners)

 [ G ]

Go-Getter at Merrill Signs on at Morgan, Landon Thomas Jr., New York Times, August 17, 2005.  “He took aim at his Merrill customers' billions in outside bank accounts and focused relentlessly on costs and margins, a clarion call for a unit, which, because of its central place in the firm's culture, had never been all that concerned with the bottom line.  Some of the steps he took were controversial, like his decision to move accounts of $100,000 and below to call centers. But the message was clear: Merrill would focus on the high-margin accounts of the wealthy and it would do what was necessary to attract the breed of broker capable of attracting such a clientele."  (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

 [ H ]

 [ I ]

In a Wall St. Hierarchy, Short Shrift to Little Guy, Gretchen Morgenson, The New York Times, April 29, 2003.  “Documents disclosed as part of yesterday's settlement show how Wall Street firms, in pursuit of investment banking fees, put the interests of their individual clients dead last.  As an analyst at Lehman Brothers told an institutional investor in an e-mail message, "well, ratings and price targets are fairly meaningless anyway," later adding, "but, yes, the `little guy' who isn't smart about the nuances may get misled, such is the nature of my business."   (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

Investors Get Shortchanged on Interest, Cathy Chu, The Wall Street Journal, February 17, 2005.  “The New York Stock Exchange yesterday issued a warning to brokerage houses who may be sweeping billions of dollars of their clients' cash into special accounts that pay lower interest rates than money-market funds.  The NYSE said brokerage houses sometimes fail to disclose prominently that these so-called cash-sweep accounts often are inferior to money-market funds. In a letter posted on its Web site and sent to about 300 brokerage houses, the exchange warned the industry that it could face new rules or possible enforcement actions if disclosure doesn't improve.”  (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

 [ J ]

 [ K ]

 [ L ]

 [ M ]

Mind Your Money, and Your Broker, Brooke A. Masters and Lauren Bayne Anderson, The Washington Post, July 4, 2004.  “Your mutual fund broker is there to help you save for retirement or your daughter's education by helping you select investments that match your tolerance for risk and your time frame for saving.  Your mutual fund broker is also there to save for his own retirement and his daughter's education by selling you investments that pay him and his firm commissions and other fees.”   (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

Morgan Stanley Sanctioned For Arbitration Evidence Delay, Lynn Cowan, The Wall Street Journal, October 21, 2003. “Brokerage firm Morgan Stanley (MWD) is being sanctioned $10,000 a day by an arbitration panel for not producing documents in an investor's case involving the way the firm sold its own mutual funds.  The National Association of Securities Dealers panel told the New York brokerage firm Monday that it would enforce the sanctions beginning Tuesday. For each day that the firm doesn't produce the requested documents, it will be charged $10,000, according to a letter sent to the firm.  The underlying case that led to the sanction involves a 78-year-old widow, Esther Farnsworth, who claims that when she moved her account from Morgan Stanley's Akron, Ohio office to its Venice, Fla. office in October 2000, her new broker switched her assets out of bonds and into B-shares of Morgan Stanley's proprietary mutual funds. She claims the purchases were made without her approval and were inappropriate for a woman of her age, and is seeking about $100,000 in compensatory damages.”  (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

 [ N ]

NASD Probes Merrill Lynch 'Call Centers', Susanne Craig, The Wall Street Journal, October 18, 2005.  “The National Association of Securities Dealers has launched an investigation into Merrill Lynch & Co.'s customer "call centers," examining whether the huge Wall Street firm has mistreated some of its clientele of mom-and-pop investors.  The investigation has been under way for some time, according to people familiar with the matter, and the two sides are close to announcing a settlement of an undisclosed sum that also would include other sanctions."   (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

New Gamble in Broker's Use of Analysis Tools, Kathy Kristof, The Morning Call (LA Times), February 18, 2005.  “Securities brokers got a sweet deal on Valentine's Day that may or may not endear them to their clients.  Beginning this week, they are able to use investment analysis tools aimed at helping clients predict how their portfolios may fare over time. These tools have been used by institutional investors for years but weren't available to retail brokers because regulators had barred them from predicting investment returns.  Now, industry regulators have carved out an exception, allowing brokers to use mathematical models, such as the so-called Monte Carlo simulation, to show clients possible long-term portfolio results.”  (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)  Classic

 [ O ]

 [ P ]

Push Is On to Advise The Very Wealthy, Kristen McNamara, The Wall Street Journal, May 27, 2006.  “Competition is heating up among financial institutions eager to offer advice to the very wealthy.  Brokerage firms, including divisions at UBS AG and Merrill Lynch & Co., are setting up specialized offices around the country staffed with elite advisory units to cater to their top tier of clients. Meanwhile, private banks and trust companies, such as Credit Suisse Group's Private Banking USA and Citigroup Inc.'s Citigroup Private Bank, which have long catered to the wealthy, are highlighting their personal service and experience creating custom solutions for complex needs. Some firms are even scaling back their focus on the merely rich, say with $10 million to invest, in order to zero in on the very wealthy, those with $25 million or more of investable assets.”   (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

Putting All the Eggs in a One-Stop Basket Can Be Messy, Gretchen Morgenson, The New York Times, January 12, 2003.  "To the architects who build them, integrated financial services empires have the allure of immense profits. But for the customers of these one-stop financial entities, perils often result.  The laws separating commercial banks from investment firms have only recently been undone, so clients of financial services behemoths are just beginning to see how the inherent conflicts can affect them. Consider a case filed against Citibank by SNS Bank N.V., a midsize commercial bank in the Netherlands and a Citibank client."   (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

 [ Q ]

 [ R ]

Risky Business, Stanley O’Neal, The Wall Street Journal, April 24, 2003.  “Listening to some oracles in Washington and elsewhere these days, you'd think the corporate landscape was populated by a bunch of capitalist outlaws, out to get a buck however they can. Nothing could be further from the truth. Talking to other CEOs, both as colleagues and as clients, the common theme that emerges is their increasing aversion to any kind of risk.  In the atmosphere of cynicism and potential retribution that dominates the business landscape today, CEOs seem to want nothing more than a low profile. They are reluctant to undertake new and untested business initiatives, want no visible risk and are loathe to speak out on corporate governance matters. It's all very troubling: Risk-taking is essential to capitalism. Without it, the system can't function.”   (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

 [ S ]

Should You Know Your Banker?, Virginia Postrel, The New York Times, December 4, 2003. “In the good old days, your local bankers knew you. You saw them in person, and maybe played golf with them or attended the same church. They didn't need a credit report to decide whether to give you a loan. Your character wasn't reduced to a numerical score. Trust didn't require computers or background checks.  If those good old days sound humane, consider what those lending practices mean to the outsider - to the upstart who doesn't belong to the right country club, isn't from the right family, isn't of the right race - or to the insider whose entrepreneurial idea threatens established businesses.  Financing based on reputation quickly turns into financing based on connections, a closed system where what matters isn't what you know but whom. That system pleases incumbent businesses, which can get the funds they need without worrying about pesky new competitors. Controlling finance is a way to control the whole economy.”  (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

 [ T ]

 [ U ]

 [ V ]

 [ W ]

Wall Street Snubs Small Accounts, Cathy Chu, The Wall Street Journal, February 17, 2005.  “In an aggressive move to shed less-profitable clients, at least three Wall Street brokerage firms have stopped paying brokers trading commissions on smaller accounts. The move generally affects investors with less than $50,000 in their accounts. By eliminating commissions on those accounts, the firms provide the brokers with virtually no incentive for working with smaller investors. The compensation change is the latest step in an ongoing effort by Wall Street firms to focus on wealthier investors.” (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

When Stock Tips Go Bad, Is the Broker to Blame?, Mark Gimein, The New York Times, June 5, 2005.  “If you've seen more than one suspense movie, you know that it's just when a character is standing on the deck of his new boat, calm and confident and looking out into the sunset, that everything generally goes wrong. So, maybe, in retrospect, that should have been the tip-off.  In August 2000, Gene Murdock was, in fact, standing on the deck of his new houseboat, docked on the shore of Clarks Hill Lake on the Georgia-South Carolina border. He was on the cellphone to his broker and friend, Joseph Harris of the Merrill Lynch office in Augusta, Ga., a few miles away.  Mr. Murdock opened an account at Merrill in 1990, after he reconnected with Mr. Harris at a college alumni dinner. The money he invested grew steadily. At its peak, at the height of the dot-com frenzy, the total value of Mr. Murdock's accounts hit $3 million. As he stood on his new boat, it was still at $2.8 million."  (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

With Wall Street on Defensive, Claims Against Brokers Surge, Ruth Simon, The Wall Street Journal, May 27, 2003.  "Stung by massive stock-market losses and emboldened by the intense regulatory attack on Wall Street, investors are expected to file a record number of arbitration claims against brokers this year.  The average payouts going to miffed investors are getting higher, too. Stockholders typically win only slightly more than half of the cases that go to arbitration. But the amount being awarded investors is soaring -- $69 million in just four months this year, compared with $139 million for all of 2002. The size of arbitration disputes also has risen, with some attorneys saying that many more million-dollar-plus claims are being filed."  (Financial Planners, Advisors and Advice)

 [ X ]

 [ Y ]

 [ Z ]