Investment Fraud Lawyer Blog

It is no surprise that retirees are often the targets of investment scams. But it is a surprise that the scammers are often empathy-challenged senior citizens themselves, and that is surprising. Attorneys and advocates for the elderly are reporting an increase in the number of elder scams perpetrated people their age, according to an article in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, “Senior Swindlers: A Sucker Retires Every Minute.”

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One of the worst and most unsuitable investments we have ever come across is the reverse convertible. Like the Devil himself, they have so many names, and are not easy to recognize on brokerage statements. UBS calls them “Yield Optimization Securities.” They are also known as “revertibles,” “revertible notes,” “reverse exchangeable securities,” and so on. And they are devilishly popular – brokerage firms sell a lot of them to elderly, retired, and on-the-brink of retired investors who need a way to generate sufficient income to live on without undue risk to their principal. The problem is that these investments are essentially put option contracts that do jeopardize principal, and brokers do not explain that critical fact.

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Scams will always be with us but they are especially plentiful when traditional investments like stocks and bonds are not doing well, according to John Waggoner of USAToday in his August 5, 2010 article, “Investment Scams Thriving.”
"It's pretty bad out there," Texas Securities Commissioner Denise Voigt Crawford was quoted as saying. The primary victims are those trying to make up losses in their 401(k) plans and stock portfolios, she added.

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The extreme risk of reverse convertibles was dramatically demonstrated recently when such a note issued by JPMorgan Chase, which promised 64 percent annualized interest, plummeted in value just three days after being sold, according to Zeke Faux in his May 17th Bllomberg article titled “JP Morgan’s 64 Percent Note Shows Risks of Reverse Convertibles.”

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The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has issued a Regulatory Notice concerning structured products called Reverse Convertibles. The notice is cast a “reminder” to member firms that they have certain “sales practice obligations” in selling such products. Investors should pay attention too, however, as the notice is essentially a warning that Reverse Convertibles and other structured products are complex, high-risk and unsuitable for most individual investors. Indeed, FINRA issued an Investor Alert about these products at about the same time.

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