Aug 5, 2024

An Attorney Explains: The Risks of Structured Notes/Products

Risks to Consider When Investing in Structured Notes/Products As an investor, you must be fully aware of the associated risks and whether structured notes fit within your investment parameters. Robert Pearce, Attorney at the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. will explain these risks to you. He is a highly experienced investment fraud lawyer who has successfully handled many structured note cases and other complex securities and investment law matters. What are structured products? More detail here Features of a particular structured product, dependent upon the type of products issued, that you as an investor should consider when determining its general suitability: Structured Product Credit Risk: Structured products are unsecured debt obligations of the issuer. As a result, they are subject to the risk of default by the issuer. The creditworthiness of the issuer will affect its ability to pay interest and repay principal. The financial condition and credit rating of the issuer are, therefore, important considerations. The credit rating, if any, pertains to the issuer and is not indicative of the market risk of the structured product or underlying asset. If a structured issue provides principal protection or a minimum return, any such guarantee rests on the credit quality of the issuer. Those issued by banks in the forms of CDs may also provide FDIC insurance with standard coverage limitations. Structured Product Liquidity Risk: Structured products are generally not listed on an exchange or may be thinly traded. As a result, there may be a limited secondary market for these products, making it difficult for investors to sell them prior to maturity. Investors who need to sell structured products prior to maturity are likely to receive less than the amount they invested. Therefore, structured products with longer maturities are subject to greater liquidity risk. The price that someone is willing to pay for structured products in a secondary sale will be influenced by market forces and other factors that are hard to predict. Sometimes, a broker-dealer affiliate of the issuer may make a market for the resale of structured products prior to maturity but the price it is willing to pay will be adversely affected by the commissions paid by the issuer on the initial sale of the structured products and the issuer’s hedging costs. Some structured products have lock-up periods prohibiting their sale during such periods. Persons who invest in structured products should have the financial means to hold them until maturity. Structured Product Pricing Risk: Structured products are difficult to price since their value is tied to an underlying asset or basket of assets and there typically is no established trading market for structured products from which to determine a price. Structured Product Income Risk: Structured products may not pay interest (or may not pay interest in regular amounts or at regular intervals), so they are not appropriate for investors looking for current income. Because the return paid on structured products at maturity is tied to the performance of a basket of assets and will be variable, it is possible that the return may be zero or significantly less than what investors could have earned on an ordinary, interest-bearing debt security. The return on structured products, if any, is subject to market and other risks related to the underlying assets. Structured Product Complexity and Derivatives Risk: Structured products typically use leverage, options, futures, swaps and other derivatives, which involve special risks and additional complexity. Structured Product Pay-Out Structure Risk: Some structured products impose limits, caps and barriers that affect their return potential. With barriers, a structured product may not offer any return if a barrier is broken or breached during the term of the structured product. Conversely, some structured products may not offer any return unless certain thresholds are achieved. Some structured products impose maximum return limits so even if the underlying assets generate a return greater than the stated limit or cap investors do not realize that excess return. Structured products also have participation rates that describe an investor’s share in the return of the underlying assets. Participation rates below 100% mean that the investor will realize a return that is less than the return on the underlying assets. Structured Product Volatility and Historical Performance of Underlying Asset(s): Past performance of an underlying asset class is not indicative of the profit and loss potential on any particular structured product. The value of the underlying assets can experience significant periods of fluctuation and prolonged periods of underperformance. Structured Product Costs and Fees: Costs and fees associated with the purchase of a structured product vary. Structured Product Tax Considerations: Structured products may be considered “contingent payment debt instruments” for federal income tax purposes. This means that investors will have to pay taxes each year on imputed annual income based on a comparable yield shown in the final term sheet or prospectus supplement. In addition, any gain recognized upon the sale or exchange, or at maturity, of these products will generally be treated as ordinary income. This especially pertains to principal protected issues. Please consult your tax advisor for guidance. Additional vulnerabilities may include loss of principal and the possibility that at maturity the investor will own the underlying asset at a depressed price. Interest rates and time remaining until maturity are all factors that may affect the value of the structured product. As with any investment selection, structured products should be purchased as a limited percentage of your portfolio and overall investable assets.

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Jul 1, 2020

FINRA Arbitration: What To Expect And Why You Should Choose Our Law Firm

If you are reading this article, you are probably an investor who has lost a substantial amount of money, Googled “FINRA Arbitration Lawyer,” clicked on a number of attorney websites, and maybe even spoken with a so-called “Securities Arbitration Lawyer” who told you after a five minute telephone call that “you have a great case;” “you need to sign a retainer agreement on a ‘contingency fee’ basis;” and “you need to act now because the statute of limitations is going to run.”

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May 14, 2020

UBS ETRAC Exchange Traded Note Investors: How Do You Recover Your UBS ETRAC Investment Losses?

If you are reading this article, we are guessing you invested in some of those high-dividend paying UBS ETRAC Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) your stockbroker recommended to increase your retirement income. We would not be surprised if you were also told the UBS ETRAC investments had a proven track record of great returns. You probably also heard: No need to worry about these investments because they were backed by one of the largest brokerage firms in the world – UBS Financial Services, Inc. (UBS). We’re not shocked because that is just what many other investors have told us about the pitch made to them to invest in UBS ETRACs.

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Mar 15, 2020

EquiAlt Private Placement Investment Losses

We are investigating and representing investors against FINRA-registered brokerage firms and financial advisors who offered and sold securities issued by affiliates of EquiAlt, LLC (EquiAlt), a private real estate company which organized at least four private placements: EquiAlt Fund, LLC; EquiAlt Fund II,LLC; EquiAlt Fund III, LLC; and EA Sip, LLC (collectively referred to as the EquiAlt Funds). According to a recent SEC Complaint, Brian Davison (Davison) and Barry Rybicki (Rybicki) offered and sold $175 million of unregistered debentures issued by the EquiAlt Funds to over 1,100 investors nationwide. The SEC alleged that Davison, Rybicki, and others committed securities fraud by misrepresenting the debentures as “secure,” “safe,” “low risk,” and “conservative.” Further, while investors were promised “that substantially all of their money would be used to purchase real estate in distressed markets in the United States and their investments would yield generous returns … EquiAlt, Davison, and Rybicki misappropriated millions in investor funds for their own personal use and benefit.” According to the SEC, the revenues that were generated by the EquiAlt Funds became insufficient to pay the interest owed to investors. As a result, the SEC alleged “the Defendants resorted to [a Ponzi Scheme] fraud, using new investor money to pay the returns promised to existing investors.” While many of the sales were solicited by unregistered EquiAlt salespersons, it is reported there were many sales by small offices of registered salespersons associated with large independent FINRA-registered stockbrokerage and insurance firms primarily located in Florida, Arizona, California, and Nevada, and many other states nationwide. It is alleged that EquiAlt salespersons received “commissions of anywhere between 10%-14%,” which is extraordinarily high for the sale of any investment product. Thus, there was such a strong incentive to sell these debentures by any means. It is likely that many of the FINRA registered brokerage firms did not authorize sales of the EquiAlt Fund debentures and that no due diligence or any other investigation of the company or its investment offerings were ever conducted. Consequently, it is very likely that the EquiAlt Funds were sold via misrepresentations and misleading statements. We have learned that investors who purchased the EquiAlt Funds debentures through FINRA-registered brokerage firm representatives also received the same sales pitch; that is, the debentures are “secure,” “safe,” “low risk,” and “conservative” investments, which was untrue which constitutes securities fraud. If you invested in any of the EquiAlt Funds private placements, you may be able to recoup your losses through a FINRA arbitration proceeding. Mr. Pearce has over 40 years of experience with private placement investment disputes and recovering money for investors lost in Ponzi Schemes. The cases we accept will be filed against FINRA registered broker-dealers for misrepresentation, omissions due to failed due diligence, unsuitable investment recommendations, and unauthorized private securities transactions otherwise known as “selling away.” If Attorney Pearce accepts your case there will be no attorney’s fee or arbitration expenses unless we recover funds for you in a settlement with the brokerage or through an arbitration award. Call 1-800-SEC-ATTY (1-800-732-2889) or email us now and get your questions answered and top notch representation in connection with your EquiAlt Funds private placement investments. If you purchased your investment directly from EquiAlt or BR Support Services, your recovery will probably be limited to what assets the Court Appointed Receiver is able to locate, liquidate, and distribute to investors. However, please call us to find out what recourse is available for this investment fraud.

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Feb 14, 2020

SEC Halts Alleged EquiAlt Ponzi Scheme: How do Investors Recover Their Losses?

On February 11, 2020, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a Complaint for injunctive relief to halt an alleged ongoing fraud conducted by EquiAlt LLC (“EquiAlt”), a private real estate investment company that controlled the business operations of EquiAlt and its four real estate investment funds: EquiAlt Fund, LLC (“Fund I”); EquiAlt Fund II, LLC (“Fund II”); EquiAlt Fund III (“Fund III”); and EA SIP, LLC (“EA SIP Fund”) (collectively referred to as the “EquiAlt Funds”). Simultaneously, the SEC and filed an Emergency Motion to freeze all of the Defendant assets and appoint a Receiver to marshall all of the assets and take control of EquiAlt and the EquiAlt Funds. The Court entered an Order that granted the SEC’s request for Temporary Restraining Order and Asset Freeze and another Order Appointing a Receiver.

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Jul 1, 2019

Investing in Hedge Funds

THE BASICS Hedge funds are similar to mutual funds in that they pool and invest investors’ money in an effort to earn a positive return. However, hedge funds have more flexible investment strategies than mutual funds. Many hedge funds seek to profit in all kinds of markets by using leverage, short-selling, and other speculative investment practices that are not typically used by mutual funds.

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Jun 1, 2019

Investing in Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are mutual fund-like registered investment companies whose shares trade on a securities exchange. ETF shares typically trade throughout the day at prices established by the market, just like common stock issuances.

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Feb 1, 2019

Investing in Note-Linked Structured Products

In general, structured products are notes linked to a single security, a basket of securities, an index, a commodity, a debt obligation, and/or a foreign currency. There is a large variety of structured products, some of which offer full principal protection, while others offer limited or no protection of principal. The majority of structured products have a fixed maturity date and pay an interest rate substantially above the prevalent market rate, but they also frequently limit the upside participation in the reference asset if principal protection is offered. Investment banks or their affiliates are the primary issuers of structured products, but the products are not all listed on a national securities exchange.

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Jan 2, 2013

Private Placements Risks – Considerations For Investing

Private placement or “Regulation D” offerings have become an important source of capital for American enterprises. But what are the risks and things to consider when doing these investments? Since 2008, companies have issued over half a billion dollars a year in securities through the private placement market.

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