Investment Terms and Concepts

Active Brokerage Account – South Florida Broker/Dealer Churning and Investment Fraud Attorney

Published on: October 4, 2012 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Active Brokerage Account:

The purpose of this post is to provide the reader with a general description of the phrase “active brokerage account.” Please keep in mind that this information is being provided for educational purposes only and is not designed to be complete in all material respects. Thus, this information should not be relied upon as providing legal or investment advice. If you have any questions relative to this post, you should contact a qualified professional.

An active brokerage account simply is an account in which there are many transactions. An active brokerage account will generate more commission revenue for the brokerage firm and its account executives than an inactive account. The question for the average investor is how much is too much. When does the activity in the client’s account benefit the client as opposed to the firm? When does the solicited activity by the firm and its account executives rise to the level of a breach of their fiduciary duties to the customer? The answer to these questions depends on the facts of each case. Consequently, if the reader has any questions concerning whether or not the activity solicited in his or her account was appropriate, it is imperative that the reader contact a qualified professional to review the activity in an attempt to make this determination.

Transfer Agents – Florida Securities Attorney

Published on: September 8, 2012 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Transfer Agents

Most investors have heard of the phrase “transfer agent” but what is a transfer agent. This post is designed to provide the reader with a general description of what a transfer agent is and the functions that it performs. Please keep in mind that this information is being provided for educational purposes only and is not designed to be complete in all material respects. Thus, this post should not be relied upon as providing legal or investment advice. If you have any questions concerning this post, you should consult a qualified professional.

Companies that have publicly traded securities typically use transfer agents to keep track of the individuals and entities that own their stocks and bonds. Most transfer agents are banks or trust companies, but sometimes a company acts as its own transfer agent.

Direct Registration – Securities Ownership – South Florida FINRA Arbitration and Securities Litigation Attorney

Published on: September 8, 2012 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Direct Registration – Securities Ownership:

This post is designed to provide the reader with a general description of securities ownership through direct registration. Please keep in mind that this information is being provided for educational purposes only and is not designed to be complete in all material respects. Thus, this post should not be relied upon as providing legal or investment advice. If you have any questions concerning this post, you should consult a qualified professional.

If a company offers direct registration for its securities, you can choose to be registered directly on the books of the company regardless of whether you bought your securities through your broker or directly from the company or its transfer agent through a direct investment plan. Direct registration allows you to have your security registered in your name on the books of the issuer without the need for a physical certificate to serve as evidence of your ownership. While you will not receive a certificate, you will receive a statement of ownership and periodic account statements, dividends, annual reports, proxies, and other mailings directly from the issuer.

Street Name Registration – Securities Ownership – Florida Securities and Investment Fraud Attorney

Published on: September 8, 2012 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Street Name Registration – Securities Ownership:

This post is designed to provide the reader with a general description of securities ownership through street name registration. Please keep in mind that this information is being provided for educational purposes only and is not designed to be complete in all material respects. Thus, this post should not be relied upon as providing legal or investment advice. If you have any questions concerning this post, you should consult a qualified professional.

You may have your security registered in street name and held in your account at your broker-dealer. Many brokerage firms will automatically put your securities into street name unless you give them specific instructions to the contrary. Under street name registration, your firm will keep records showing you as the real or “beneficial” owner, but you will not be listed directly on the issuer’s books. Instead, your brokerage firm (or some other nominee) will appear as the owner on the issuer’s books.

Plysical Certificates – Securities Ownership – South Florida Securities and Investment Fraud Attorney

Published on: September 8, 2012 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Physical Certificate – Securities Ownership:

This post is designed to provide the reader with a general description of securities ownership through the ownership of a physical certificate. Please keep in mind that this information is being provided for educational purposes only and is not designed to be complete in all material respects. Thus, this post should not be relied upon as providing legal or investment advice. If you have any questions concerning this post, you should consult a qualified professional.

When you buy a security, whether through your broker or from the company itself, you can ask to have the actual stock or bond certificates sent to you. You may have to pay a nominal fee for the added expense of issuing a paper certificate. It’s important that you safeguard your certificates until you sell or transfer your securities. It can be difficult to prove that you once owned a certificate that has been lost, stolen, or destroyed. Your broker – or the company or its transfer agent – will generally charge a fee to replace a lost or stolen stock certificate.

Securities Registration – South Florida Investment Fraud and Mismanagement Attorney

Published on: September 8, 2012 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Securities Registration. What are the alternatives available to investors to register securities ownership.

This post is designed to provide the reader with a general description of the ways that an investor can register their securities ownership. Please keep in mind that this information is being provided for educational purposes only and is not designed to be complete in all material respects. Thus, this post should not be relied upon as providing legal or investment advice. If you have any questions concerning this post, you should consult a qualified professional.

As an individual investor, you have up to three choices when it comes to holding your securities:

International Investing – Florida Fraud, Mismanagement and Negligent Supervision FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney

Published on: August 9, 2012 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Invest Internationally – How to do it.

There are a number of ways individual investors may gain exposure to international investments. As with domestic investments, investors should first learn as much as they can about an investment. The purpose of this post is to provide the reader with general discussion of this topic. This information is being provided for educational purposes only and is not designed to be complete in all material respects. Thus, it should not be relief upon as providing legal or investment advice.

If you are contemplating investing internationally, consider the following:

Penny Stock Fraud and Misrepresentation Florida Litigation and FINRA Arbitration Attorney

Published on: August 3, 2012 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

SEC v. Phillip W. Offill, Jr., et al.,
Civil Action No. 07-CV-1643-D (N.D. Tex. filed Sept. 26, 2007)

August, 2012:

SHANE A. MULLHOLAND AND DISSEMINATION SERVICES LLC ENJOINED AND BARRED FROM PENNY STOCK OFFERINGS

Risks Associated With Municipal Bond – Municipal Securities Dealers – Fraud, Mismanagement and Negligent Supervision FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney

Published on: August 1, 2012 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

What are the risks of investing in municipal bonds?

As with any investment, investors who buy municipal bonds face a number of risks. The purpose of this post is to provide a general discussion of some of these risks. The post is being provided for educational purposes only and is not designed to be complete in all material respects. Thus, it should not be relied upon as providing legal or investment advice. If you have any questions concerning the below information, you should contact a qualified professional.

General risks, include:

Municipal Bonds – What Are They? Broker/Dealer Fraud, Misrepresentation and Mismanagement Florida FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney

Published on: August 1, 2012 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

What are municipal bonds?

If you are a novice investor, you may have various questions concerning what are municipal bonds. The pupose of this post is to provide general information relative to answering this question. It is being provided for educational purposes only. Thus, is it not designed to be complete in all material respects. Therefore, this post should not be relied upon for legal or investment advice. If you have any questions concerning the below summary, you should contact a qualified professional.

Municipal bonds are debt securities issued by states, cities, counties and other governmental entities to finance capital projects, such as building schools, highways or sewer systems, and to fund day-to-day obligations. Investors who buy municipal bonds are in effect lending money to the bond issuer in exchange for a promise of regular interest payments, usually semi-annually, and the return of the original investment, or “principal.” The date when the issuer repays the principal, the bond’s maturity date, may be years in the future. Short-term bonds mature in one to three years, while long-term bonds won’t mature for more than a decade.