Are You A Financial Advisor With A Wrongful Termination or Defamation Claim?
Advisors terminated by their broker-dealer should immediately retain experienced legal counsel. The broker-dealer has 30 days after termination to file the mandatory U-5. Legal counsel can help you negotiate fair and accurate language for this critical and potentially public disclosure. Moreover, how the U-5 is completed above and beyond the narrative “reason for termination” can be pivotal. Many advisors fail to appreciate that, for the most part, their broker-dealer can terminate them without cause. But...
It’s 10 O’clock – Do You Know Who Your Beneficiaries Are?
Having a will
is an important step in directing what is to happen to your assets when you
die. Ensuring all of your accounts have current beneficiary information
properly submitted is also key. Financial accounts and insurance policies
provide the option to list beneficiaries. Even if you do not have a will (Call us!), you have the opportunity to add beneficiary information to your financial
accounts.
Estate of Finley v. Allen, 2024
WL 2484466 is a good reminder that the step of adding or updating
beneficiaries should...
DOES YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISER HAVE PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE?
Believe it
or not, your trusted financial adviser is only human. He or she can make a very
costly mistake despite his or her best intentions. Perhaps you have taken
comfort in the fact that your adviser, whether a registered representative or
an investment adviser representative, has a company with whom they are
affiliated. Surely the company has insurance, right? Well, I have more bad news
for you – that company might not have an errors and omissions policy either,
particularly if they are a small outfit.
Our advice is that you ask to
receive a copy of your advisor’s policy at the beginning of your relationship.
If your...
CAN A FINANCIAL ADVISER BE SUED BY A NON-CLIENT FOR NEGLIGENCE?
The
answer to that question is “probably.” At least in Missouri, New York, and
Iowa.
Missouri courts apply a balancing
test when determining if a “non-client” intended beneficiary of professional
services can sue for negligence despite a lack of privity. The leading case in
Missouri, at least as to accountants, is Aluma Kraft Manufacturing Co. V.
Elmer, 493 S.W.2d 378(1973). The Aluma court stated:
“The
determination of whether in a specific case the defendant will be held liable
to a third person not in privity is a matter of policy and involves...
Missouri Securities Division is Investigating new Missouri Limited Liability Companies
A membership interest in a
limited liability company is a “security” as broadly defined under the Missouri
Securities Act of 2003.[1] Now the Missouri Commissioner
of Securities, through its Enforcement Section of the Securities Division
(“Enforcement Section”), is sending letters to specified companies that have newly
filed with the Missouri Secretary of State as limited liability companies
or as foreign companies, which state it has received information of
participation in prohibited conduct by these companies. Section 409.6-602(b) of
the Missouri...