|
| Company |
Problem
|
Date |
Fund Police Opinion
|
Rating |
|
|
Pimco
|
SEC dropped charges against PIMCO for market timing activity.
|
8/1/2004
|
PIMCO up until this point in time has had a sterling reputation, mainly based on the reputation of bond guru Bill Gross. Most investors are at Pimco for Bill Gross and if that is your case it is ok to stay there. Performance in the equity fund area of P
|
Yellow Light
|
|
Pimco
|
Charged with market-timing for preferred customers, in amounts exceeding 4B in 1.5 years.
|
7/31/2004
|
PIMCO up until this point in time has had a sterling reputation, mainly based on the reputation of bond guru Bill Gross. Most investors are at Pimco for Bill Gross and if that is your case it is ok to stay there. Performance in the equity fund area of P
|
Yellow Light
|
|
Pimco
|
CEO charged with allowing improper (rapid-trading) trading in Pimco funds that hurt long-term shareholders.
|
7/30/2004
|
PIMCO up until this point in time has had a sterling reputation, mainly based on the reputation of bond guru Bill Gross. Most investors are at Pimco for Bill Gross and if that is your case it is ok to stay there. Performance in the equity fund area of P
|
Yellow Light
|
|
|
Pimco
|
Allowed Canary Capital hedge fund to market-time its funds in exchange for sticky assets.
|
6/1/2004
|
PIMCO up until this point in time has had a sterling reputation, mainly based on the reputation of bond guru Bill Gross. Most investors are at Pimco for Bill Gross and if that is your case it is ok to stay there. Performance in the equity fund area of P
|
Yellow Light
|
|
Pimco
|
SEC notified the company that it was going to take action against PEA for its admission for allowing Canary Capital Partners to market time its funds in exchange for long-term investments in PEA-run funds. PEA later terminated the deal because it did not
|
2/13/2004
|
PIMCO up until this point in time has had a sterling reputation, mainly based on the reputation of bond guru Bill Gross. Most investors are at Pimco for Bill Gross and if that is your case it is ok to stay there. Performance in the equity fund area of P
|
Yellow Light
|
|
Pimco
|
Announced it was subpoenaed in the CA investigation about defrauding investors over brokerage compensation deals.
|
11/10/2003
|
Fraud is not music to FP's ears.
|
Yellow Light
|
|
Piper Jaffray
|
The company sold selected funds in exchange for brokerage commissions and other payments from the fund companies.
|
2/23/2005
|
This is a great example of why commissioned-based brokers do not always place the interests of their clients first.
|
Red Light
|
|
Piper Jaffray
|
A former broker was found to have been churning elderly clients' accounts.
|
1/18/2005
|
HUGE conflicts of interest exist at many large brokerage firms. FP suggests you steer clear and seek advice from a FEE-ONLY planner. Visit www.napfa.com.
|
Red Light
|
|
Piper Jaffray
|
The company was found to have deficiencies in recordkeeping, communication with the public, regulatory reporting, and supervision.
|
1/12/2005
|
If you google this company, they are littered with offenses that signal a "red light" rating is in order.
|
Red Light
|
|
Piper Jaffray
|
Charged with "directed brokerage."
|
8/6/2004
|
We like the word "voluntary". It is good to see situations where investment companies are willing to cooperate vs. deny the facts.
|
Red Light
|
|
Piper Jaffray
|
Fined for selling IPO shares to executives in return for investment banking business.
|
7/13/2004
|
We like the word "voluntary". It is good to see situations where investment companies are willing to cooperate vs. deny the facts.
|
Red Light
|
|
Principal Financial
|
Rapid trading of the company's mutual funds
|
12/24/2003
|
As a general rule, Fund Police does not favor investments sold by insurance companies, such as annuities, variable life, etc. These products often have high fees, initial rates that drop to much lower rates and various gimmicks that infer the investor ca
|
Red Light
|
|
Prudential
|
Martin Duffner, a former broker, pled guilty to securities fraud charges for leading a group of brokers who were market timing trades for hedge fund clients.
|
9/21/2005
|
There are frequent conflicts of interest at many large brokerage firms. FP advises you to steer clear and find a fee-only financial advisor.
|
Red Light
|
|
Prudential
|
The company failed to report information about their brokers to customers. The information included customer complaints, regulatory actions, criminal charges and convictions.
|
12/2/2004
|
Hiding information from your clients does not make the problem disappear. FP wonders what else are they hiding? FP warns you to steer clear of companies who have “baggage” and are unwilling to come clean.
|
Red Light
|
|
Prudential
|
Elliot Spitzer has requested information from Prudential to obtain documents that describe possible improper payments made to brokers for life insurance sales.
|
10/20/2004
|
While FP is not sure of the depth of involvement, we are sure that insurance companies in general have flawed cutomer ethics procedures. Prudential has a past reputation of getting in hot water with regulators and customers.
|
Red Light
|
|
Prudential
|
SEC charged the company with market-timing
|
2/1/2004
|
Beware of commission based stock brokers.
|
Red Light
|
|
Prudential
|
Charged by Massachusetts regulators for civil fraud. Accused of late trading $162.4M worth of trades.
|
12/12/2003
|
Beware of commission based stock brokers.
|
Red Light
|
|
Prudential
|
Executives facilitated after-hour trading.
|
11/15/2003
|
Beware of commission based stock brokers.
|
Red Light
|
|
Prudential
|
Massachusetts Securities Division and SEC has filed civil charges against former brokers and managers from Prudential for enabling improper trading on fund shares. The group misrepresented the identities of the funds shares and customers.
|
11/4/2003
|
Beware of commission based stock brokers.
|
Red Light
|
|
Prudential
|
Company announced it is being investigated by the NASD for late-trading.
|
11/4/2003
|
Beware of commission based stock brokers.
|
Red Light
|
|
Prudential
|
Fired executives for their roles in facilitating market-timed trades.
|
11/1/2003
|
Beware of commission based stock brokers.
|
Red Light
|
|
Putnam
|
Six former officers of Putnam Fiduciary Trust, an entity of Putnam Investments, have been charged by regualtors over an alleged $4 million fraud scheme and attempted cover-up.
|
1/3/2006
|
Beware of conflicts of interest at these large investment companies.
|
Red Light
|
|
Putnam
|
Putnam Investment Management is to distribute $40 million to its shareholders for not disclosing that they were using commissions from mutual funds to pay for preferred marketing deals.
|
9/14/2005
|
Beware of conflicts of interest at these large investment companies.
|
Red Light
|
|
Putnam
|
The company failed to properly discipline portfolio managers who were market-timing funds.
|
5/1/2005
|
Keep visiting the Fund Police website to see the next scandal Putnam will be in. It seems like they are in here quite frequently. Hint...Hint... (Kick them out!)
|
Red Light
|
|
Putnam
|
Putnam did not adequately disclose revenue-sharing arrangements with investors.
|
3/24/2005
|
Many companies have failed to disclose costs to their investors.
|
Red Light
|
|
Putnam
|
Marsh and McLennan-owned companies may have illegally referred business to one another.
|
3/14/2005
|
Keep reading to see why we rate this company red.
|
Red Light
|
|
Putnam
|
Putnam may have benefitted from errors made while administering retirement plans.
|
3/14/2005
|
Keep reading for more reasons why we rate them red.
|
Red Light
|
|
Putnam
|
Putnam forced its employees to hold on to their stock of parent company Marsh and McLennan as the stock's value dropped by almost half after the insurance industry scandal investigations broke.
|
3/14/2005
|
They abuse both employees and investors!
|
Red Light
|
|
Putnam
|
Market timing has cost investors $48.5 Million. Additional misdeeds by employees added $4.4 Million to losses for investors.
|
3/4/2005
|
Putting a price tag on how much abusing investors can cost has created a more concrete picture as to how harmful improper trading really is.
|
Red Light
|
|
Putnam
|
An independent consultant hired to determine how much Putnam owes in restitution concluded that Putnam owes $108.5 million.
|
3/4/2005
|
The larger you are, the harder you fall.
|
Red Light
|
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