Reg BI and Slimy annuity sales I want to give you the background of this annuity sale so you can understand how slimy it was and how damaged the customer is. Importantly, this would not have been an actionable case under suitability, however, under the Reg BI disclosure rules, we feel this is highly likely. Clearly, so does opposing counsel. Once again, you make the call. The Registered Rep (RR) is dual-hatted. She is a Fiduciary in the advisory account and a broker in the b

I am going to go through how Merrill Lynch is defending itself with their Statement of Answer in this claim. I want to point out that you don't need to be a securities attorney to understand Reg BI. You need to be eligible for jury duty and have $5,000 in a 401k or IRA or a regular account at Vanguard, Schwab, Morgan Stanley, etc. You just have to be a retail customer . This is a plain English rule. If you are a retired teacher or a truck driver you are a Reg BI expert. The

In the spirit of this website, I am going to present the industry side, the side of this claimant and my opinion as a retail customer. Blackstone documents at bottom of this page. A sales load is very common when a broker sells you an alternative investments. They may say, "the charge is a sales load/placement fee of 1% upfront and a trail of 85 basis points." In the vast majority of the cases, the broker has the option of charging you "0" upfront up to a maximum of 2% -3.

Brokers are afraid to offer the advisory account because they get paid huge commissions in brokerage accounts. They get paid those commissions up front and they have a big incentive to be deceptive to get the clients to buy. One of the main points behind Reg BI is is to force the brokers to offer retail customers the option of a non-conflicted advisory account with every suggestion. (Reg BI rule Page 34): Recommendations of account types ,  We are modifying Regulation Best

Variable annuities are complicated products with high commissions and deferred sales charges. Regulation Best Interest protects you....

If you invested in a Private Equity feeder fund through any of the large wealth managers, you almost certainly have a claim under Reg BI. If you are disappointed in your fund or want to stop funding capital calls- read on. The largest firms just decided to offer PE feeder funds ONLY through brokerage accounts. That is specifically mentioned as a material limitation and violates Reg BI. The entire point of Reg BI is that the customer chooses if they want to be in an unconflict

In the example below, the incentives the broker had to make a commission come out clearly. The client had no idea. It really shows you...

Why did funds create a minimum that is never used? I believe and allege it is to allow the industry to "triple dip" and charge "firemen" extra by pretending they don't qualify for a less expensive share class. Why do funds that are geared to people making $70,000 annually need a $1,000,000 minimum for a share class which is about 50% of the entire fund? It smells funny. To put this in perspective, FINRA fined a Wells Fargo broker (Charles Lewis Jr., 11/25) $10,000 and suspen

Reg BI and retail Private Equity Pitchbooks - a collision that was a long time coming. I am going to show you how IRR changes over time and how Reg BI protects you from deceptive numbers. IRR doesn't mean (Expletive)...I mean it really doesn't mean anything....not until at least 10 years of a funds life (and depending on the fund), it can be meaningless until the end (of the 12+ years) life  of the fund......- I don't want the clients to hear this.   recorded conversation (

Recorded Convo – They Can’t Figure Their Own IRR (This article was on the SEC public comments page for over a year.) (see the list of FINRA/SEC rules they are violating at the bottom) Apollo doesn’t have a way to get to their own 22%  (4/18/23)-  speaking to the  Apollo wholesaler ( PE.A)   Apollo product specialist. (PE.B) Wealth manager  (WM) The WM doesn’t know how Apollo gets to the 22% which is the most important number on the page. He spoke to his wholesaler who didn’t

Retiree- 65- Ohio: Couple- Wife- I invested $150,000 in a variable annuity in 2021, It is now worth $160,000-AFTER 5 YEARS. If it had been in a money market fund at 4%, it would be worth about $180,000. If it had been in a 60/40 split, it would be worth about $225,000. They told me they were Fiduciaries. They meant they were Fiduciaries in the advisory account , but they sold me an annuity in a brokerage account . They didn't give me anywhere near ALL material information.