protecting your investments Tag Archives — Securities Fraud Lawyers Blog

Investing 101: Wrap Fees Explained

Published on: December 8, 2017 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

If you’ve looked into hiring an investment adviser or advisory firm to help manage your investments, you may have seen some offer various advisory services bundled together under one comprehensive fee. These types of service fees are called wrap fees and are offered as sponsored packages by many advisory firms.

With wrap fee programs, your advisor or firm serves as the “sponsor” for the program; essentially the liaison between you and your service offerings. Typically, the fee for these types of programs is determined by the overall value of your investment account. While it may seem easy enough on your end to just pay one flat fee for a bundling of advisory services, there are things you need to watch for when considering wrap fee programs.

Understanding Wrap Fees

Wells Fargo Offers New Robo-Advising Platform

Published on: October 27, 2017 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

Banking giant, Wells Fargo, recently rolled out a new robo-advising platform aimed at enticing first-time investors to invest through Wells Fargo-packaged investment offerings. The unveiling of the automated advisory platform marks the latest in a concerted effort by large-scale financial institutions to capitalize on tech-savvy consumers and meet the changing demands of a digital marketplace.

Robo-advising has grown as an increasingly popular platform for investors who seek more autonomy in their investment decisions as well as expedited trading.

What is Robo-advising?

Smart Investing Tips: Cryptocurrency Investing

Published on: October 6, 2017 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

You’ve probably heard of the popular cryptocurrency investing platform Bitcoin, but what about Ethereum?

Or Litecoin?

Or Dash?

In Wells Fargo Accounts Fraud Case, the Hits Keep Coming

Published on: May 12, 2017 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

We all remember that nastiness about Wells Fargo, right? You know, that little PR debacle where it turned out that, due to unrealistic sales initiatives, Wells Fargo employees initiated accounts fraud against millions of consumers.

After the story broke, Wells Fargo lost a major vote of consumer confidence. The following weeks saw many customers closing accounts and executives getting raked over the coals, culminating in the resignation of the CEO and a large scale termination of employees who had participated in accounts fraud.

Finally, it seemed the dust had settled. The banking giant was ordered to pay out $190 million in federal fines and reparations to affected consumers. The bank also promised a change to corporate culture and initiatives, announcing an end to aggressive sales goals.

Investors and Traders Await Interest Rate Hikes

Published on: March 10, 2017 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

Rate hikes on the way

The Federal Reserve recently announced that interest rate hikes likely, causing trading and investing to slow. Fed Chairwoman, Janet Yellen will most likely announce increases later this week, with several more expected throughout 2017. Rates will likely increase 0.75-1.00 percent, initially, according to a Reuters report.

The Fed’s announcement considerably slowed the recent tech and industrial market rally Wall Street has been experiencing. Investors and securities traders are waiting to see how these increased rates will affect market holdings.

What Investors Should Know About Customer Advisory Centers

Published on: March 3, 2017 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

Customer Advisory Centers vs. Call Centers

Although they sound similar, customer advisory centers differ from call centers in several important ways. Securities firms and investment broker-dealers typically rely on call centers to handle basic customer service issues and administrative functions. They do not provide investment or trading advice, nor do they earn commissions on trades and deals.

Customer advisory centers, meanwhile, are call centers staffed by securities professionals. They are able to provide trade and investment advice as well as sell securities services.