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A 6-Step Guide to Making Sure Your Broker Is Legit

If you think illegal activity and other shenanigans by brokers and other investment professionals ended with the last Great Recession, you could be making a costly assumption. Although Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff and “Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort may have spent time behind bars, wrongdoing by brokers and others continues unabated and undetected. That’s why it’s important to check out brokers or investment advisors and their firms before doing business with them. You also should beware of certain signs that a financial professional may be trying to victimize you. Key Takeaways While investing has become safe, low-cost, and efficient for ordinary investors, some instances of brokerage fraud still do take place to fleece unsuspecting or greedy investors. There are several ways to check and see if your broker is legit. Always do your homework beforehand. Check the background of the firm and broker or planner for any disciplinary problems in the past, beware of cold calls, and check your statements for funny business. When in doubt, there are several routes to file complaints and seek restitution. Examples of Brokerage Fraud Here are just two examples of the continuing problems in the industry. The federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed fraud charges against a Massachusetts-based registered investment advisory firm and its owner. The agency accused Family Endowment Partners and its owner, Lee Dana Weiss, of, among other irregularities, advising clients to make certain investments without disclosing that Weiss would pocket half of the profits. The SEC also charged that clients were urged to invest $40 million in securities issued by companies in which Weiss had financial interests and from which Weiss received payments. In another case, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that it had permanently barred from the securities industry a former registered representative of Caldwell International Securities Corp. after charging him with numerous securities violations, including churning customer accounts. Richard Adams’ excessive trading in two customer accounts from July 2013 to June 2014, FINRA said, generated more than $57,000 in commission while costing the customers more than $37,000 in losses. By taking these six steps, you can protect yourself from doing business with an unscrupulous broker or another financial professional: Beware of Cold Contacts Be wary of any broker or investment advisor who contacts you unsolicited from a company with which you’ve never done business. The contact could take the form of a phone call, email or letter. Don’t get sucked in by invitations to investment seminars that promise free lunches or other gifts aimed at getting to you lower your guard and invest blindly. Sixty-four per cent of those 40 or older who responded to a 2013 survey by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation said they had been invited to a “free lunch” seminar. And be especially suspicious of callers who use high-pressure sales tactics, tout once-in-a-lifetime opportunities or refuse to send written information about an investment, advises the SEC. Have a Conversation Whether you’re looking for a broker or a financial advisor, you need to be comfortable with the people who’ll be providing you with advice, products and services. Ask lots of questions about what the company offers and its experience with clients who have similar needs to your own. Also, find out what relationship you’ll have with the professional. Under a so-called fiduciary standard, financial professionals must put their clients’ interests above their own when, for example, recommending investments. That’s a higher level than the so-called suitability standard, in which the professional is required only to make recommendations that are consistent with the client’s best interests. While investment advisors always must follow the fiduciary standard, that’s not the case for broker-dealers—though you may be able to find a broker-dealer willing to adhere to the fiduciary standard. (See also: Choosing A Financial Advisor: Suitability Vs. Fiduciary Standards.) If you can’t get straight answers or the individual seems rushed or otherwise unwilling to provide you with full and clear information, go elsewhere. Don’t forget to ask about rates, fees and commissions. Registered investment advisors should also provide you with both parts of Form ADV (see Step 3’s section on the SEC). Do Some Research The first thing worth trying when researching a financial professional is a simple web search with the broker and firm name. That might bring up new releases or media reports of alleged wrongdoing or disciplinary actions, client conversations on online forums, background information, and other details. For instance, typing “Lee Dana Weiss” into a search engine brings up hundreds of thousands of results, including a link to the news release about the SEC complaint again him and his firm. Then try searching the regulatory agencies directly. Financial professionals and their firms are legally required to be registered with federal and state securities regulators. And that registration information, along with the details of disciplinary actions taken against the individuals or firms, is available to the public. Keep in mind that the agencies sometimes have overlapping enforcement jurisdiction and may provide similar information. Still, it’s worth checking them all because they may have different policies about the details they include and how long the data remain available. Here is a list: State securities regulators: The regulators in your state likely have information on licensing, registration and disciplinary actions about brokers and brokerage firms, as well as on registered investment advisors. Also check any advice your state offers for researching a broker or investment advisor, such as the investor education materials offered by the New Jersey Bureau of Securities. FINRA: Another good source of information about brokers and their firms is the BrokerCheck website operated by FINRA, an independent, not-for-profit organization authorized by Congress to protect investors. Some states refer visitors to the FINRA for broker information. But even if your state’s site has a lot of information of its own, BrokerCheck is worth visiting just to see whether there are any additional details. To research by phone, call 800-289-9999. SEC: Along with many state regulatory agencies, a primary source of information about >>Read more
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Auto insurance for teen drivers

Is there a newly licensed driver in your home? Reduce the stress by understanding the implications for your car policy. For parents, the excitement of having a first-time driver in the house is usually tempered with worry. With little driving experience, immature drivers are at a higher risk for accidents. Of course, safety concern is uppermost in most parents’ minds but other stressors—like the high cost of insuring your new driver and the financial liability implications of a teen driving mishap—can be reduced with these steps. Before getting a learners permit, make a call to your insurance professional Your agent or rep can clearly explain the costs involved in insuring a teenage driver. The good news is, as your teenager gets older, insurance rates will drop—providing he or she has a good driving record. Therefore… Involve your teen in the car insurance discussion From the outset, it’s important to talk to your kid about the relationship between driving a car and the attendant responsibilities, including insurance costs. Explain and reinforce driving safety tips and the serious consequences of driving infractions or accidents, including increasing the cost of insurance. Encourage positive behaviors Auto insurers offer discounts or reduced premiums to: Students who maintain at least a “B” average in school Teens who take a recognized driver training course College students who attend school at least 100 miles away from home and don’t bring their car to campus Choose the right auto insurance company It’s generally less expensive for parents to add teenagers to their auto insurance policy than it is for teens to purchase one on their own. By insuring your teenager’s car with your insurer, you may also qualify for a multi-vehicle discount. That said, insurance companies differ in how they price policies for young drivers, so do some research into prices to be sure to find the best fit for you and your teen. Assign your teen to the right car Find out how your insurer assigns drivers to cars—some insurers will assign the driver who is the most expensive to insure (generally the teenager) to the car that is the most expensive to insure. If possible, assign your teen to the least valuable car. Note that with this kind of arrangement there can be no exceptions; your teen must use only the car to which he or she is assigned, even in an emergency. If your teenager is involved in an accident with an unassigned car, penalties could be imposed and your own premiums might increase. Increase your liability insurance for greater protection If your teen gets into an accident, state minimums for liability insurance will not be enough to fully protect you from lawsuits. Consider purchasing higher amounts of liability coverage—if your teenager is found negligent in an accident and the damages exceed your insurance limits, you will be held financially responsible and could be sued in court for those amounts not covered by your insurance. Depending on the value of your financial assets, you may even want to have the extra protection that a personal umbrella liability policy provides. Raise your deductible to save on your premium The higher your deductible, the more money you can save on your premium, so consider raising your deductible from the minimum amount required. You may want to use those savings to increase your liability insurance.
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What you need to know about Finland, Sweden and NATO

Finland is on the cusp of joining NATO while Sweden is on the verge of following suit. Here’s what you need to know about how the war in Ukraine pushed the two Nordic states closer to the US-backed alliance, and what comes next. Why haven’t Finland and Sweden already joined NATO? While other Nordic countries like Norway, Denmark, and Iceland were original members of the alliance, Sweden and Finland did not join the pact for historic and geopolitical reasons. Both Finland, which declared independence from Russia in 1917 after the Bolshevik revolution, and Sweden adopted neutral foreign policy stances during the Cold War, refusing to align with the Soviet Union or the United States. For Finland, this proved more difficult, as it shared a massive border with an authoritarian superpower. To keep the peace, Finns adopted a process some call “Finlandization,” in which leaders acceded to Soviet demands from time to time. Both countries’ balancing acts effectively ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union. They joined the European Union together in 1995 and gradually aligned their defense policies with the West, while still avoiding joining NATO outright. Each country had different reasons for avoiding signing up for the NATO pact in tandem with the EU. For Finland, it was more geopolitical. The threat to Russia is more tangible thanks to the two countries’ shared 830-mile border. “Finland has been the exposed country, and we’ve been the protected country,” former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in a joint interview alongside former Finnish prime minister Alexander Stubb. While an independent nation, Sweden’s geography puts it in the same “strategic environment” as its liberal democratic neighbors, Bildt said. Finland and Sweden have enjoyed a close partnership for decades, with Stockholm viewing its decision to refrain from joining NATO as a way to help keep the heat off Helsinki. Now, however, Sweden is likely to follow Finland’s lead. “We share the idea that close cooperation will benefit both of us,” current Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said at a news conference last month alongside her Finnish counterpart, Sanna Marin. What does NATO membership entail? The reason most countries join NATO is because of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which stipulates that all signatories consider an attack on one an attack against all. Article 5 has been a cornerstone of the alliance since NATO was founded in 1949 as a counterweight to the Soviet Union. The point of the treaty, and Article 5 specifically, was to deter the Soviets from attacking liberal democracies that lacked military strength. Article 5 guarantees that the resources of the whole alliance — including the massive US military – can be used to protect any single member nation, such as smaller countries that would be defenseless without their allies. Iceland, for example, has no standing army. Bildt said he doesn’t see new big military bases being built in either country should they join NATO. He said that joining the alliance would likely mean more joint military training and planning between Finland, Sweden, and NATO’s 30 current members. Swedish and Finnish forces could also participate in other NATO operations around the globe, such as those in the Baltic states, where several bases have multinational troops. “There’s going to be preparations for contingencies as part of deterring any adventures that the Russians might be thinking of,” Bildt said. “The actual change is going to be fairly limited.” Why does Russia loathe NATO? Russian President Vladimir Putin sees the alliance as a bulwark aimed at Russia, despite the fact that it had spent much of the post-Soviet years focusing on issues like terrorism and peacekeeping. Before Putin invaded Ukraine, he made clear his belief that NATO had edged too close to Russia and should be stripped back to its borders of the 1990s, before some countries that either neighbor Russia or were ex-Soviet states joined the military alliance. Ukraine’s desire to join NATO, and its status as a NATO partner — seen as a step to eventual full membership — was one of the numerous grievances Putin cited in an attempt to justify his country’s invasion of its neighbor. The irony is that the war in Ukraine has, effectively, given NATO a new purpose. “Article 5 is back in the game, and people understand that we need NATO because of a potential Russian threat,” Stubb said in an interview with CNN before the invasion. Why the war in Ukraine changed everything Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the final straw that pushed Sweden and Finland to pull the trigger on NATO membership. If the Kremlin was willing to invade Ukraine, a country with 44 million people, a GDP of about $516 million, and an armed force of 200,000 active troops, what would stop Putin from invading smaller countries like Finland in Sweden? “Everything changed when Russia invaded Ukraine,” Marin said in April. “People’s mindset in Finland, also in Sweden changed and shifted very dramatically.” Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, public support for joining NATO in Finland has leaped from around 30% to nearly 80% in some polls. The majority of Swedes also approve of their country joining the alliance, according to opinion polls there. “Our NATO membership was decided on the 24th of February, at 5 o’clock in the morning, when Putin and Russia attacked Ukraine,” Stubb said. “Finland and Sweden would not have joined without this attack.” Officials in both Sweden and Finland have also expressed frustration that, in the lead-up to the war in Ukraine, Russia attempted to demand security guarantees from NATO that the alliance stop expanding eastward. Such a concession, however, would have effectively given Russia the power to dictate the foreign policies of its neighbors by taking away their ability to choose their own allies and partners. Russia, Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist told CNN, wants “real influence in the security choices in Europe.” “They want an influence over the countries in the neighborhood. And that is totally >>Read more
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NASA working on ‘nearly indestructible’ titanium tires for bicycles on Earth

NASA has sent rovers to Mars and the moon with ‘nearly indestructible’ titanium tires and these space-age wheels will soon be traveling around Earth. The SMART Tire Company is working with scientists at the American space agency to adapt its ‘smart memory alloy’ (SMA) tire technology for bicycles. This design, according to the firm, means the bike tires will never need air or get a flat. The firm is set to release METL (Martensite Elasticized Tubular Loading) tires next year that will boast a rubber-like tread for added traction. Originally developed for use on lunar and Mars rover missions, the SMA tire is made from interconnect springs composed of Nitinol, a lightweight nickel-titanium alloy. Though quite elastic, Nitinol returns to its original shape at the molecular level without losing structural integrity. As a bonus, they provide as good or better traction than traditional rubber tires and have built-in shock-absorbing capabilities. ‘Cyclists will not be able to wait to get their hands on these very cool-looking, space-age METL tires that don’t go flat,’ said Earl Cole, who took home the million-dollar prize in Survivor: Fiji in 2007 and launched the SMART Tire Company last year with blockchain engineer Brian Yennie. Though quite elastic, Nitinol returns to its original shape at the molecular level without losing structural integrity ‘The unique combination of these advanced materials, coupled with a next generation, eco-friendly design make for a revolutionary product,’ he added. The SMART team worked with NASA Glenn Research Center inventors Santo Padula and Colin Creager to adapt the technology for use by the general public. ‘Thanks to their ability to undergo phase transitions at the molecular level under strain, SMAs are unlike any other material, exhibiting thirty times the recoverable strain of ordinary steel,’ said Padula, a materials science engineer. ‘Shape memory alloys look extremely promising in revolutionizing the entire terrestrial tire industry — and that’s just the tip of the iceberg,’ he added. California-based Felt Bicycles is providing the bicycles to help develop these space age wheels. However, the tires are much heavier than traditional rubber tires, and their open-weave structure means debris can get caught inside. The METL tires will be finished with a rubber-like tread to add traction, so they can ride over dirt, pavement and other terrains. ‘Over time the tread will wear out and need to be reapplied, but that maintenance is expected to be a lot cheaper than having to regularly replace a set of tires,’ Gizmodo reported. According to SMART, the METL tires will be available for the cycling community in early 2022, though pricing has not been announced. The company is also working with Ford Motor’s Spin division to develop SMA tires for e-scooters. ‘We are excited about the potential of METL and we are sharing our knowledge about scooter tire performance and specifications with The SMART Tire Company to help advance our mission to create cleaner, safer and better transportation for all,’ said Spin R&D manager James Berg. And there are naturally plans to adapt them for automobiles and other wheeled vehicles. A car tire that doesn’t give out from wear-and-tear, leaks or punctures could have a major impact on the global automotive tire market, valued at $112.16 billion in 2019 and projected to reach $154.40 billion by 2027, according to Allied Market Research.
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Kelly Clarkson has filed to legally change her name in wake of divorce from Brandon Blackstock

‘My new name more fully reflects who I am: Kelly Clarkson seeks to change her name to Kelly Brianne in wake of divorce By Adam S. Levy For Dailymail.com Published: 04:04 GMT, 18 February 2022 | Updated: 04:04 GMT, 18 February 2022 Kelly Clarkson has filed to legally change her name to Kelly Brianne. The entertainer, 39, on Monday said she desired to make the name change – which is her first and middle names – as her ‘new name more fully reflects who’ she is, according to court docs reviewed by US Weekly. Another hearing on the matter is slated for March 28, the outlet reported. The latest: Kelly Clarkson, 39, has filed to legally change her name to Kelly Brianne, as she said her ‘new name more fully reflects who’ she is. The singer was snapped last month The Fort Worth, Texas-born star has spent more than a year and a half working through her divorce from Brandon Blackstock, 45, with whom she shares daughter River Rose, seven, and son Remington Alexander, five. Prior to the breakup, she was also the stepmother of his two kids with ex-wife Melissa Ashworth, Savannah, 19, and Seth, 14. The Kelly Clarkson Show host initially filed for divorce from Blackstock in June of 2020 saying there were ‘irreconcilable differences’ in the marriage, which began when the couple wed in October of 2013. In court, last month, the A Moment Like This songstress conceded 5.12 percent of the $17.8 million Montana ranch they lived on to Blackstock, which is worth around $908,800, according to the outlet. The My Life Would Suck Without You artist was court-ordered to pay Blackstock $150,000 in monthly spousal support, with an extra $45,601 earmarked toward their children. The Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) performer, who shares joint physical and legal custody of her two kids with Blackstock, told Extra last fall that she and Blackstock had ‘a lot of help as far as therapists or child psychologists’ for their children because they want to do it right,’ adding, ‘Everyone’s sad and it’s OK to be sad.’ ‘I know with me and Brandon, it’s just a difficult thing because we’re in different places,’ she said. ‘And it’s like, we both agree on the main things, but it’s a hard thing when you’re not together all the time, for me personally. ‘As long as you make sure it’s about the children and their best interests, then we’re both on board.’ Read more at DailyMail.co.uk
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