Fitapelli Kurta

Simplified Prospectuses for Certain Securities: What It Means for Investors On March 11, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had adopted a new rule allowing the use of simplified prospectuses for variable annuities and variable life insurance contracts. What does this mean for investors? Variable annuities are some of the most complex and misunderstood securities products out there, and few investors take the time to read through the typical ...Continue reading

U.S. Senators from Both Parties Profit Off Coronavirus The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the economy. The stock market has tanked and, by some estimates, as many of 20% of Americans could find themselves out of work. This is a far cry from the prosperous economy we saw as recently as February 4, when President Trump gushed about the economy during his State of the Union address. In light of the coronavirus crisis and the devastating economic fallout, it has come ...Continue reading

Steven Seagal Sanctioned by SEC for Promoting Bitcoiin2Gen ICO Steven Seagal, an actor and martial artist known for his roles in such action movies as UNDER SIEGE (1992) and ABOVE THE LAW (1988), has found himself in hot water after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) determined that he unlawfully promoted an unregistered securities offering. According to a press release dated February 27, 2020, the SEC found that Steven Seagal did not disclose to potential investors...Continue reading

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Aspiring Broker Rawley Hallman Cheats on Securities Exam, Fails Anyway Aspiring broker Rawley Hallman’s dreams of selling investment products were dashed when the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) found out that he cheated on his Series 7 exam. Rawley Hallman won’t be helping consumers choose investment products since he can’t even invest in his own education. Instead of exerting effort to study for the exam, he spent his brainpower by concocting a cheating scam...and not a sophisticated one at that. According to FINRA, Rawley Hallman (CRD#: 6524072) was working with a broker-dealer in a non-registered capacity from 2015 to 2018. In 2018 he decided to sit for the Series 7 exam in hopes of becoming a broker himself. Tired of struggling to memorize tax categories, he found the Series 7 exam to be too taxing overall. So he allegedly decided to take a shortcut about halfway through the test. Employing the oldest trick in the book, he allegedly went to the bathroom and referenced a piece of paper with notes about test topics. He oh-so-creatively titled the piece of paper Starter Cheat Sheet. The exam proctor confiscated the sheet. Oddly, Rawley Hallman was still allowed to finish the test, which he failed anyway despite his scheme. All brokers are required to do their due diligence and research investment products before recommending suitable products to clients. This can involve hours of research and hard work as brokers study investments, poring over prospectuses and financial statements. Rawley Hallman, however, never even made it to this stage because he failed to do due diligence when it came to studying for the Series 7 exam. Investors may have dodged a bullet, since a broker who doesn’t want to hit the books likely would have cut corners when it comes to recommending investments. As a result of cheating, Rawley Hallman was suspended from the securities industry for 18 months. Rawley Hallman likely would have found being a broker to be an unsuitable career for him if he wasn’t even interested in passing the Series 7 on his own. We hope he will find a suitable career that is in line with his age, degree of financial sophistication, long-term and short-term investment goals, and risk tolerance. #finra #stocks #investing #securitieslawyer #thesecuritiesattorney #stopbrokerfraud

What's the difference between a stockbroker and an investment adviser? Find out about this important distinction in our latest blog post on Medium. #stopbrokerfraud #investing #personalfinance #yourmoney