Just as Salomon Smith Barney was in the final stages of paying out claims on a wage-and-hour suit settled last August, the firm got hit again.The new lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla., on May 5 by sales assistant Arleen...
"Set up a 401(k) for me." That's the first thing most small-business owners say to Jim Rafoth when he talks to them about establishing a pension plan. Yet a 401(k) is not what most of them get. Rafoth, a broker with Beard Pension Services in...
Four years ago, when Brian Orton left banking to become a broker with D.A. Davidson & Co. in Redmond, Wash., he worked with an attorney who was a guardian for people with disabilities. "He had a need for investments beyond CDs for his clients,"...
In a widely watched move, Prudential Securities has unveiled a new split-pricing plan that charges clients an annual fee for advice, and $24.95 for each transaction.The Prudential Advisor program, rolled out in mid-May, is the first program at a...
SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt Jr. has directed the NASD to make brokers disclose to clients recruitment incentives and special payouts for selling proprietary products.Levitt told a Florida compliance conference in April that the NASD is considering...
"To remain competitive, full-service brokerages like Merrill Lynch will have to change their prices and compensation models... Affluent customers are not waiting, however: 19% of North American households with more than $750,000 in investable...
Following Prudential Investment's lead, several of the nation's largest securities firms are searching for outside channels to sell proprietary funds.Prudential Investments, Merrill Lynch Asset Management, PaineWebber's Mitchell Hutchins Asset...
The SEC has been deluged with letters and calls from investors complaining of delays in transferring accounts.According to SEC records obtained by RR through the Freedom of Information Act, the SEC received 1,739 complaints (both written and...
Chris Jones didn't need much technology in his 12-year career as a bank broker. His job was to serve customers sent by the bank. That changed in 1996 when he jumped--without many clients--from manager of a bank brokerage to a traditional brokerage...
An NASDR arbitration panel in January denied a customer suit filed against an Everen Securities broker and awarded the firm and the rep $36,216 as restitution for what the panel found to be a frivolous claim.The client, a doctor, filed the $5...
