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TAG | raymond james auction rate securities

May/11

15

Learn How to Recover Your Losses on Frozen Raymond James Auction Rate Securities

Comments off · Posted by admin in FINRA

When the auction rate securities mess was first brought to light, there was an article in the St. Petersburg Times in 2009, reporting that while institutions like Bank of America are placating regulators and investors by buying back the hard-to-trade securities from customers, Raymond James chief executive Tom James told clients in a letter that the company doesn’t have access to financing to cover “anything near” the $1-billion outstanding owned by its clients.

Even if he could buy back the securities, James said, regulators would not give his company credit for the securities because they are illiquid. James also wrote that some large banks that have pledged to buy back securities “perhaps even with funds provided by the federal government for other purposes,” but have not yet repurchased everything.

The market for auction rate securities, which had been sold by nearly every large firm on Wall Street as a cash equivalent, seized up in February 2008, precipitating the stock market crash that September.

ARS or auction-rate securities, are long-term debt instrument designed to trade like short-term securities. They were issued by many municipalities and closed-end mutual funds, and often pitched to small investors as safe and easily redeemable. In early 2008, as the credit crunch intensified, the $300-billion auction-rate market froze, leaving investors unable to sell their holdings. When the market for the securities froze, Raymond James Financial’s clients held $1.9 billion in auction rate debt.

In a lengthy letter to clients in 2009, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, James alluded to other underwriters that allegedly knew that auctions were failing, had suppressed research reports or employed executives who liquidated their own positions while still selling to clients. “To the best of my knowledge, we didn’t participate in those types of acts,” James wrote.

Also in his letter, James said he couldn’t remember a significant number of failed auctions in auction-rate securities for almost 20 years. James said he understood clients could conduct business with whomever they wish. But he urged patience and understanding, noting that he personally still owns a large number of auction-rate securities.

In some of the more recently settled auction-rate cases, claimants allegethat their brokers recommended, and then invested their money in, an auction rate securities when they opened their account with Raymond James & Associates in or around January 2008.

The claimants also alleged that the broker’s “actions and conduct created the false impression that there were deep pools of liquidity in the auction market,” according to the arbitration award.

In one instance, the key to the investors’ $925,000 recent award, was the timing of the purchase which was reported in InvestmentNews.com. Thirty-five days after the couple made the purchase, their securities came up for auction for the first time. The auction failed, he said, and the clients never had the chance to go to auction.

If you feel you have a claim against Raymond James Financial, Inc., for selling you Auction Rate Securities (ARS) and would like to potentially recover your losses, contact  a lawyer for a free consultation at Soreide Law Group, PLLC, at:  www.stockmarketlawsuit.com or call (888) 760-6552.

Soreide Law Group, PLLC., representing investors nationwide before FINRA  the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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May/11

14

Raymond James Could Pay Up to $50M due to Distressed ARS

Comments off · Posted by admin in FINRA

Because of distressed auction-rate securities (ARS), Raymond James Financial Inc., could face a loss of $25 million to $50 million, if it has to buy them back  from their clients.

In a May 10, 2011, article from InvestmentNews.com, Bruce Kelly writes that  the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the New York attorney general’s office, and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation have been investigating the firm, which has had negotiations with the regulators to resolve the matter.

“Were we to repurchase that ARS portfolio, the fair value could be less than the par value of such securities by an amount ranging from $25 million to $50 million,” the company said in a filing with the SEC. “This estimate does not include any ARS held by our clients who transferred to another broker-dealer.”

Kelly writes that Raymond James clients held about $370 million in auction-rate securities, at the end of March. The distressed market for the securities, which many brokerage firms sold, touting their liquidity, was one of the first major signs of the credit crisis that eventually shook Wall Street and the economy in 2008 and 2009.

The large investment banks that underwrote the frozen securities quickly entered into settlements with regulators to buy back the securities from retail clients. Raymond James sold the product but was not an underwriter.

“We believe we have meritorious defenses, and therefore, any action by a regulatory authority to compel us to repurchase the outstanding ARS held by our clients would likely be vigorously contested by us,” the firm said

It was reported that Raymond James has more than 5,000 registered reps and advisers in employee and independent sales channels.

If you feel you have a claim against Raymond James Financial, Inc., for selling you Auction Rate Securities and would like to potentially recover your losses, contact  a lawyer for a free consultation at Soreide Law Group, PLLC, at:  www.stockmarketlawsuit.comor call (888) 760-6552.

Soreide Law Group, PLLC., representing investors nationwide before FINRA  the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

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Mar/10

25

The Wall Street Fraud Watchdog Warns All E-Trade-Raymond James Auction Rate Securities Investors To Act Now

Comments off · Posted by admin in FINRA

February 8, 2010 — The Wall Street Fraud Watchdog is urging all medium to large investors who purchased the auction rate securities from E-Trade, or Raymond James to not wait for the calvary, with respect to a redemption of their ARS, or ARPS. The group is saying,”this auction rate securities mess has been going on for nearly two years, and individuals who purchased auction rate securities of thinking their investment will be redeemed by E-Trade, or Raymond James are probably living in dream land.” The Wall Street Fraud Watchdog is also saying, “there are literally thousands of auction rate securities clients that are sitting on the sidelines; we think mistakenly hoping their money will be refunded. You need to fight for your money, and you need to do it now.”

The Wall-Street group says, “the auction rate securities con-job was the biggest single case of fraud ever in US history, for the large part perpetrated by some of the largest banks, or investment bankers in the US, and no one has gone to jail?” The Wall Street Fraud Watchdog is saying, “the auction rate securities disaster-was a $200 billion dollar con-job. The big players knew exactly what they were doing, and we really will give any investor still stuck in this mess-what we believe to be the best possible options.”

If you feel you have a claim against E-Trade or Raymond James and would like to be represented in an arbitration with FINRA, contact  a lawyer at Soreide Law Group at:  www.stockmarketlawsuit.com or call (888) 760-6552. We are currently representing numerous investors before FINRA against E*Trade and Raymond James for selling Auction Rate Securities.

 

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