Baltimore-based Everest Wealth Management has been permanently barred from the investment advisory business by the Maryland Attorney General. The firm, known for their "Money Guys" infomercials, has been accused of fraudulently misrepresenting the risks of their investment strategies, the Baltimore Sun reports. The latest order, which the firm said it would appeal, also includes a $255,000 fine and revokes owner Philip Rousseaux's registration as an investment advisor. Everest also faced an order from the Maryland Insurance Administration that sought to revoke Rousseaux's license and fine him and the firm $62,400.
Morgan Stanley Expands Debit and ATM Card Offerings
Morgan Stanley has expanded the qualifying accounts for its Premier Cash Management Program which offers more day-to-day banking services to clientele. The program, which launched in July of 2016, has been a success. More than 80,000 Morgan Stanley clients use the program's services which include direct deposit, check writing, online bill pay, mobile deposits and a debit card with ATM access and fee rebates, according to a statement.
FinMason Releases Set of Analytical APIs
FinMason, a fintech and analytics firm from Boston, announced Thursday the launch of FinRiver, a new set of application program interfaces (APIs) that robo advisors, portfolio management software and accounting platforms can use to run thousands of calculations across portfolios in a matter of milliseconds. FinRiver includes 700 analytic items for technology providers to run risk and performance metrics, aggregate factor exposures, do scenario analysis and stress testing and conduct Monte Carlo simulations. Algonath, a computational system that analyzes over six million individual investments globally at a standard speed of one 50-asset portfolio every 20 milliseconds, powers FinRiver. Rich Cancro, the founder and CEO of AdvisorEngine, a B2B robo advisor, said he is using the APIs to deliver intuitive and simple metrics about portfolios.