Are people really this stupid? Sadly, apparently so. Some promoter of investments in Texas promised investors a return of 20% per year over two years. In addition, this Texas promoter promised that each investor would potentially receive another $15,000 to $18,000 over five years, plus even more crazy incentives.
I am not sure how many stupid fools invested with this guy, but the Texas State Securities Board's Enforcement Division stepped in and put a stop to it. Or, at least they thought so. The brazen nature of this promoter is unbelievable. While the promoter met with the Enforcement Division, after promising to stop his sham, he was still promoting it to investors on that very same day!
My book, Meet Wall Street. The Reason You're Stupid, 2nd Edition is on sale right now for $0.99 as an eBook at https://books.apple.com/us/book/meet-wally-street-the-reason-youre-stupid/id816020421?mt=11&app=itunes. The subtitle is very apropos for anyone fool enough to invest with this promoter. Hopefully the Texas State Securities Board stopped him before he stole too much money from investors. You can read the press release from the Texas State Securities Board here: https://www.ssb.texas.gov/news-publications/commissioner-enters-order-against-georgetown-promoter-fraudulent-medical.
If you had read my book, then you would not have fallen for an investment promoter like this guy. Let's have a little class on this, shall we? Your first clue to this being a sham was the 20% per year return promised over two years. He was only asking for $50,000 from each investor. That was your second clue. Your third clue was the additional return promised of another $15,000 to $18,000 over five years. Add these clues up and you have a sham investment of a 76% return on your money in five years. How can these guys even say this crap with a straight face? I would report a guy like this so fast they would not know what hit them. I majored in Criminal Justice and I believe in law and order. Besides, I am out here doing the right thing by people and these investment promoter types are ruining it for honest advisers like me.
Readers of my eBook will know that this type of investment violated my rules of investing. One of my rules is to "Keep it Public." By keeping it public, I mean that you should only invest in publicly traded investments listed on a stock exchange. My other rule is to "Keep it Liquid." This investment was certainly not liquid. Once you gave this promoter your money, then that would likely be the last time you saw it. How are you going to comply with my two rules? This sham investment was not publicly traded and it was not liquid where you can get your money in as little as two business days. Therefore, as readers of my eBook know, this was a big, red flag and they would have never fallen for this investment promoter.
Oh by the way, did these investors check this guy's background? That's what I thought. Another egregious failure. Did they check to see if this was a securities offering registered in the State of Texas or granted an exemption from registration from the State of Texas? Of course, they did not. They just blindly hand their money over to investment promoters like this all the time. You can check an advisor's background at https://www.investor.gov/crs.
Ninety-nine cents will provide you the information to protect you from investment promoters like this guy. Now do you see why the subtitle of my book is "The Reason You're Stupid"? Unfortunately, you are very, very stupid if you invest with someone like this.
You need me in your corner. I am telling you.
https://www.marianfs.com
Showing posts with label Meet Wally Street. The Reason You're Stupid. 2nd Edition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meet Wally Street. The Reason You're Stupid. 2nd Edition. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Hard times and Bad Actors
Well, hard times have a way of exposing bad actors. The SEC has stepped in and frozen a firm based in Aventura, Florida, named TCA Fund Management Group which is sadly a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) firm. I say sadly because my firm is a Registered Investment Adviser firm, but nothing like this one. It ticks me off when I see RIA firms give honest RIA's a bad name. I do not like it one little bit, so take this blog post with a grain of salt if you want.
You can read about the SEC's actions in this press release link: https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-110
Everyone has opinions, but I have to fault the SEC for approving this firm as a Registered Investment Adviser in the first place on August 13, 2014. Everything about this firm is murky and they use a bunch of investment jargon which is often necessary to con people out of their money. Of course, the firm is innocent until proven guilty. However, I present some evidence to bolster my opinion which again is just an opinion.
They became registered with the SEC on August 13, 2014. However, they were touting their performance before then in a very peculiar fashion. For their TCA Global Credit Master Fund LP, they show a performance table in this document that shows their monthly returns since inception of April 2010. (I am sure they hate the fact that this document is on the Internet now, but your experienced Chief Compliance Officer sleuth has found it.) As you examine this table, specifically the "Onshore Monthly Performance (%) Net of Fees" table, please notice the fact that they never lost any money in any particular month for the period shown. www.portfoliomi.com/pdf/AMI-TCA-FACTSHEET-JAN-2015.pdf. Correct me if I am wrong, but don't you find that just a wee bit unusual?
The second thing that jumps out at me is the location of this "fund." Cayman Islands. Now, come on SEC, why on earth would you approve a firm that is a Registered Investment Adviser when they have an "investment" (and I am using that term very loosely) based in the Cayman Islands? Seriously, you guys need me approving firms as Registered Investment Advisers. I would never approve a firm like this one as an RIA
The other thing that bothers me is that they charge a 2% management fee, plus a 20% of profits Performance Fee. Ah ha! This is a hedge fund! Well, of course only sophisticated investors with the requisite net worth can invest in hedge funds as you know. Their minimum investment is $500,000. Of course, just because you have $500,000 or more to invest does not mean that you are smart. In my opinion, you should read the 2nd Edition of my book, Meet Wally Street. The Reason You're Stupid. There is a link in the right hand column of this blog.
There are many points that I can make here, but look at these items if you will.
Did I mention that TCA Fund Management Group was also registered in the United Kingdom and other countries? Supposedly, they are registered in the Cayman Islands, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and finally, the United States. Who knows if any of this is true? I am sure all of their investors know and did their due diligence before investing. I know. I know. I am being sarcastic.
I don't know how long this You Tube video is going to survive before the attorneys catch it, but if the link still works, I want you to watch this and tell me what in the hell TCA Fund Management Group does. I have a hope and a prayer that this young lady is one of the whistleblowers helping the SEC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCbWFC9rGu4
Don't forget that I am a compliance sleuth. I found this when I DuckDuckGo'd her name after watching the You Tube Video above. If you will notice that first thing in this DuckDuckGo search lists her, Tara Antal, as Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Administrative Officer. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=tara+antal+tca+fund+management+group&t=ffnt&ia=web Who knows what in the hell a Chief Administrative Officer does, but I do know what a Chief Compliance Officer does. Funny thing is that I could not find her at the Adviser Check web site either. Rather curious, don't you agree?
When you click on that link to her LinkedIn account, it does not exist any more. So, this is the scary part and why I hope and pray that she is one of the whistleblowers. I am in no way being prejudicial against young women, but I have a hard time believing that this young lady has the requisite skill set, experience and knowledge to be a Chief Compliance Officer for a hedge fund. Watch the video again and you will see that she struggled to explain what the firm does. At the time of this video she was a Senior Financial Analyst, but somehow she made the jump from that position in 2014 to a Chief Compliance Officer of a firm with supposedly $489,835,822 in regulatory assets under management as of January 31, 2019. She was CCO of almost a half a billion dollar RIA firm? Hopefully, she has "lawyer-ed up", because she is in a heap of trouble as the Chief Compliance Officer for this firm, unless she is one of the whistleblowers, then the SEC might work a deal with her. Let's pray for her.
This is a big lesson for young people. Do not accept a fancy title like Chief Compliance Officer unless you have a ton of experience, lots of control and know everything about a firm and its investment offerings. Otherwise, you could end up like this young lady in a big legal mess. Maybe she already quit this firm and called the SEC before they dropped the hammer. Let's hope so.
Another interesting fact about this firm is their Form ADV 2A given to clients. They do not have one posted for 2020 as they are required to do. However, never fear, you compliance sleuth is on the case. I found one for 2019. https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/169163
Funny thing is that there are a bunch of glaring problems with this document. One obvious one is where is the money held? Their answer is "banks or other qualified custodians to hold all assets of these Clients." WTF? Are you freaking kidding me? They do not even tell people where their money is? I'll say it again. WTF?
This is proof positive that the SEC did not look at this document when it was filed. If they did, they would have instituted an immediate examination. The SEC's answer will be that they are understaffed and need more funding. There is this thing called reading Form ADV 2A filings. After all, once you submit this Form ADV 2A, then someone at the SEC is notified electronically. I would venture to say nobody read it when it was filed. Just a guess on my part. Don't get me wrong. We need the SEC, but they need someone like me helping them as an outside consultant on RIA exams and inspections.
Let me give you another glaring mistake. This firm was subject to independent auditors. In this 2019 Form ADV 2A, they said that they "expect to distribute audited financial statements to all investors ...within 120 days of the end of the fiscal year." Expect to? Expect to? WTF?
Another thing is the way they described the guy who owns the firm in this 2019 Form ADV 2A. "The Firm is controlled and majority owned by Robert Press via one or more affiliated entities." Huh? One or more affiliated entities? WTF? What affiliated entities? What are the names of these "affiliated entities" and are any of these "affiliated entities" regulated in any way? Have they been subject to any lawsuits? Sadly, the way this is worded, an investor has no freaking idea. Apparently, they do not have a problem writing a check for $500,000 though.
I wonder. Perhaps this may offer some insight into why there is no 2020 Form ADV 2A and further answer the question as to why they are currently under investigation by the SEC. Their independent financial auditor maybe did not sign off on it.
Oh well. Another cautionary tale for a lot of people.
You can read about the SEC's actions in this press release link: https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-110
Everyone has opinions, but I have to fault the SEC for approving this firm as a Registered Investment Adviser in the first place on August 13, 2014. Everything about this firm is murky and they use a bunch of investment jargon which is often necessary to con people out of their money. Of course, the firm is innocent until proven guilty. However, I present some evidence to bolster my opinion which again is just an opinion.
They became registered with the SEC on August 13, 2014. However, they were touting their performance before then in a very peculiar fashion. For their TCA Global Credit Master Fund LP, they show a performance table in this document that shows their monthly returns since inception of April 2010. (I am sure they hate the fact that this document is on the Internet now, but your experienced Chief Compliance Officer sleuth has found it.) As you examine this table, specifically the "Onshore Monthly Performance (%) Net of Fees" table, please notice the fact that they never lost any money in any particular month for the period shown. www.portfoliomi.com/pdf/AMI-TCA-FACTSHEET-JAN-2015.pdf. Correct me if I am wrong, but don't you find that just a wee bit unusual?
The second thing that jumps out at me is the location of this "fund." Cayman Islands. Now, come on SEC, why on earth would you approve a firm that is a Registered Investment Adviser when they have an "investment" (and I am using that term very loosely) based in the Cayman Islands? Seriously, you guys need me approving firms as Registered Investment Advisers. I would never approve a firm like this one as an RIA
The other thing that bothers me is that they charge a 2% management fee, plus a 20% of profits Performance Fee. Ah ha! This is a hedge fund! Well, of course only sophisticated investors with the requisite net worth can invest in hedge funds as you know. Their minimum investment is $500,000. Of course, just because you have $500,000 or more to invest does not mean that you are smart. In my opinion, you should read the 2nd Edition of my book, Meet Wally Street. The Reason You're Stupid. There is a link in the right hand column of this blog.
There are many points that I can make here, but look at these items if you will.
- They were touting performance before being registered with the SEC as an RIA.
- They mention that their performance was calculated by a "third party administrator," but did not name this firm in this document. How convenient!
- Their performance never had a losing month! This comes in very handy as it relates to number 5. below.
- They are based in the Cayman Islands. Most people do not even know where the Cayman Islands are located, their tax laws, their asset protection laws, their treaties or lack thereof with the United States and on and on.
- They charge a performance fee of 20% based on positive returns which is really nice when you consider number 3. above.
Did I mention that TCA Fund Management Group was also registered in the United Kingdom and other countries? Supposedly, they are registered in the Cayman Islands, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and finally, the United States. Who knows if any of this is true? I am sure all of their investors know and did their due diligence before investing. I know. I know. I am being sarcastic.
I don't know how long this You Tube video is going to survive before the attorneys catch it, but if the link still works, I want you to watch this and tell me what in the hell TCA Fund Management Group does. I have a hope and a prayer that this young lady is one of the whistleblowers helping the SEC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCbWFC9rGu4
Don't forget that I am a compliance sleuth. I found this when I DuckDuckGo'd her name after watching the You Tube Video above. If you will notice that first thing in this DuckDuckGo search lists her, Tara Antal, as Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Administrative Officer. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=tara+antal+tca+fund+management+group&t=ffnt&ia=web Who knows what in the hell a Chief Administrative Officer does, but I do know what a Chief Compliance Officer does. Funny thing is that I could not find her at the Adviser Check web site either. Rather curious, don't you agree?
When you click on that link to her LinkedIn account, it does not exist any more. So, this is the scary part and why I hope and pray that she is one of the whistleblowers. I am in no way being prejudicial against young women, but I have a hard time believing that this young lady has the requisite skill set, experience and knowledge to be a Chief Compliance Officer for a hedge fund. Watch the video again and you will see that she struggled to explain what the firm does. At the time of this video she was a Senior Financial Analyst, but somehow she made the jump from that position in 2014 to a Chief Compliance Officer of a firm with supposedly $489,835,822 in regulatory assets under management as of January 31, 2019. She was CCO of almost a half a billion dollar RIA firm? Hopefully, she has "lawyer-ed up", because she is in a heap of trouble as the Chief Compliance Officer for this firm, unless she is one of the whistleblowers, then the SEC might work a deal with her. Let's pray for her.
This is a big lesson for young people. Do not accept a fancy title like Chief Compliance Officer unless you have a ton of experience, lots of control and know everything about a firm and its investment offerings. Otherwise, you could end up like this young lady in a big legal mess. Maybe she already quit this firm and called the SEC before they dropped the hammer. Let's hope so.
Another interesting fact about this firm is their Form ADV 2A given to clients. They do not have one posted for 2020 as they are required to do. However, never fear, you compliance sleuth is on the case. I found one for 2019. https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/169163
Funny thing is that there are a bunch of glaring problems with this document. One obvious one is where is the money held? Their answer is "banks or other qualified custodians to hold all assets of these Clients." WTF? Are you freaking kidding me? They do not even tell people where their money is? I'll say it again. WTF?
This is proof positive that the SEC did not look at this document when it was filed. If they did, they would have instituted an immediate examination. The SEC's answer will be that they are understaffed and need more funding. There is this thing called reading Form ADV 2A filings. After all, once you submit this Form ADV 2A, then someone at the SEC is notified electronically. I would venture to say nobody read it when it was filed. Just a guess on my part. Don't get me wrong. We need the SEC, but they need someone like me helping them as an outside consultant on RIA exams and inspections.
Let me give you another glaring mistake. This firm was subject to independent auditors. In this 2019 Form ADV 2A, they said that they "expect to distribute audited financial statements to all investors ...within 120 days of the end of the fiscal year." Expect to? Expect to? WTF?
Another thing is the way they described the guy who owns the firm in this 2019 Form ADV 2A. "The Firm is controlled and majority owned by Robert Press via one or more affiliated entities." Huh? One or more affiliated entities? WTF? What affiliated entities? What are the names of these "affiliated entities" and are any of these "affiliated entities" regulated in any way? Have they been subject to any lawsuits? Sadly, the way this is worded, an investor has no freaking idea. Apparently, they do not have a problem writing a check for $500,000 though.
I wonder. Perhaps this may offer some insight into why there is no 2020 Form ADV 2A and further answer the question as to why they are currently under investigation by the SEC. Their independent financial auditor maybe did not sign off on it.
Oh well. Another cautionary tale for a lot of people.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
California Alcohol Licensee "Investments"
This one takes the cake as far as Ponzi schemes go.
"I have a great investment for you. We loan money to California Alcohol Licensees who need funds to apply for a California Liquor License. When they get the license, then they will pay you back at a rate of 12% interest once they open their liquor store."
Well, I do not know for sure what the sales pitch was, but I do know that $300,000,000 was stolen from investors who fell for this. Think of it. Investors actually put $300,000,000 into this so called "investment." THREE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS OF STUPIDITY!
Are we this dumb and stupid America? Or, is this just the result of pure unadulterated greed?
Readers of my book, Meet Wally Street. The Reason You're Stupid, 2nd edition (aptly named in this case) know full well that Ponzi schemers sell investments that are unregulated and do not exist. If these "investors" had read my book, then they would have never invested in this "investment." The problem is that I'm just a little peon in the grand scheme of things. Nobody knows who I am nationally, therefore most Americans miss out on some valuable Ponzi scheme protection for only $19.95. My 2nd edition book is available most everywhere, like Apple Books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others.
"Well, gee Rick. You are nothing but a self-promoter hawking your book." If you think that, then you are stupider than I thought. The choice is to lose your money to a Ponzi scheme, or buy my book for $19.95. Duh! I would venture to guess that everyone who loses their money to a Ponzi scheme, loses a whole lot more than $19.95. Yes, I called you stupid, because you are stupid, if you are one of the ones that invested in this California Alcohol Licensee scam. In fact, this one has to be at the top of the stupidity list. I'm not worried about missing out on you people as a client, since you proved to me your stupidity. I like smart clients who take my fiduciary advice.
Of course, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is on the case and working to get your money back. Who knows how long this will take? Further, who knows how much of your original "investment" you will get back, if any? You can read all about it here: https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2019-168
What if you could find a fiduciary who did not want you to open a new account or transfer your assets to their firm? You're looking at him. No risk of a Ponzi scheme from me either, since I do not make you open or transfer accounts before getting a Financial Plan. This is the Future of Advice, in case you did not know.
https://www.firstcoastplanning.com
"I have a great investment for you. We loan money to California Alcohol Licensees who need funds to apply for a California Liquor License. When they get the license, then they will pay you back at a rate of 12% interest once they open their liquor store."
Well, I do not know for sure what the sales pitch was, but I do know that $300,000,000 was stolen from investors who fell for this. Think of it. Investors actually put $300,000,000 into this so called "investment." THREE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS OF STUPIDITY!
Are we this dumb and stupid America? Or, is this just the result of pure unadulterated greed?
Readers of my book, Meet Wally Street. The Reason You're Stupid, 2nd edition (aptly named in this case) know full well that Ponzi schemers sell investments that are unregulated and do not exist. If these "investors" had read my book, then they would have never invested in this "investment." The problem is that I'm just a little peon in the grand scheme of things. Nobody knows who I am nationally, therefore most Americans miss out on some valuable Ponzi scheme protection for only $19.95. My 2nd edition book is available most everywhere, like Apple Books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others.
"Well, gee Rick. You are nothing but a self-promoter hawking your book." If you think that, then you are stupider than I thought. The choice is to lose your money to a Ponzi scheme, or buy my book for $19.95. Duh! I would venture to guess that everyone who loses their money to a Ponzi scheme, loses a whole lot more than $19.95. Yes, I called you stupid, because you are stupid, if you are one of the ones that invested in this California Alcohol Licensee scam. In fact, this one has to be at the top of the stupidity list. I'm not worried about missing out on you people as a client, since you proved to me your stupidity. I like smart clients who take my fiduciary advice.
Of course, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is on the case and working to get your money back. Who knows how long this will take? Further, who knows how much of your original "investment" you will get back, if any? You can read all about it here: https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2019-168
What if you could find a fiduciary who did not want you to open a new account or transfer your assets to their firm? You're looking at him. No risk of a Ponzi scheme from me either, since I do not make you open or transfer accounts before getting a Financial Plan. This is the Future of Advice, in case you did not know.
https://www.firstcoastplanning.com
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Texas Investor Guide
The Texas State Securities Board has published a really nice guide for investors. The Investor Guide explains a lot of things about investing in general with a glossary of terms. In addition, it explains the differences in registration types for financial advisors. The best part to me is the validation of what I wrote about in my book, Meet Wally Street. The Reason You're Stupid. 2nd Edition and of course, the validation is how fraudsters steal your money and the tactics that they use.
I have been writing about investment scams for years with my three basic rules of investing. If you follow these three simple rules, then you stand a fighting chance against all the fraudsters out there trying to steal your money. You always have to be on guard however. Nothing is ever fool proof.
Keep it liquid means to only buy investments that you can get your money back within normal trade settlement within one or two business days. No exceptions!!!!
Do your homework means do a easy online checkup on your financial advisor and make sure they are licensed in your state for one thing. You can do this at Investor.gov. After you do that first critical step, then follow up and see if they have any complaints on their record and if so, what are the details of those complaints. Also, check other licenses like CFP, or other financial designations. Don't forget about insurance agent licensing either. You will have to go to the individual state insurance department web site for this information and you may have to dig around for it. It might be just as easy to call them for the information.
In the Texas State Securities Board's Investor Guide they talk about some of the scams that I have been writing about for years. Promissory notes, Non-Publicly Traded REIT's, Private Placements and other hocus-pocus investments that do not exist. All of these fail the first of my two rules above. None of these are publicly traded and none of these are liquid. That ought to be your first clue. If it isn't liquid and it isn't publicly traded, then hold onto your wallet. Somebody is out to steal money from you. Most Ponzi schemes come from these areas as pointed out in the Texas Investor Guide.
I highly recommend this Texas Investor Guide and you can get your copy by visiting the Texas State Securities Board web site here:
https://www.ssb.texas.gov/news-publications/order-2019-texas-investor-guide
My book Meet Wally Street. The Reason You're Stupid. 2nd Edition is available here and at your favorite ebook retailer. Make sure it is the 2nd edition!
https://www.amazon.com/Meet-Wally-Street-Reason-Stupid/dp/1720401543
I have been writing about investment scams for years with my three basic rules of investing. If you follow these three simple rules, then you stand a fighting chance against all the fraudsters out there trying to steal your money. You always have to be on guard however. Nothing is ever fool proof.
- Keep it Public
- Keep it Liquid
- Do Your Homework
Keep it liquid means to only buy investments that you can get your money back within normal trade settlement within one or two business days. No exceptions!!!!
Do your homework means do a easy online checkup on your financial advisor and make sure they are licensed in your state for one thing. You can do this at Investor.gov. After you do that first critical step, then follow up and see if they have any complaints on their record and if so, what are the details of those complaints. Also, check other licenses like CFP, or other financial designations. Don't forget about insurance agent licensing either. You will have to go to the individual state insurance department web site for this information and you may have to dig around for it. It might be just as easy to call them for the information.
In the Texas State Securities Board's Investor Guide they talk about some of the scams that I have been writing about for years. Promissory notes, Non-Publicly Traded REIT's, Private Placements and other hocus-pocus investments that do not exist. All of these fail the first of my two rules above. None of these are publicly traded and none of these are liquid. That ought to be your first clue. If it isn't liquid and it isn't publicly traded, then hold onto your wallet. Somebody is out to steal money from you. Most Ponzi schemes come from these areas as pointed out in the Texas Investor Guide.
I highly recommend this Texas Investor Guide and you can get your copy by visiting the Texas State Securities Board web site here:
https://www.ssb.texas.gov/news-publications/order-2019-texas-investor-guide
My book Meet Wally Street. The Reason You're Stupid. 2nd Edition is available here and at your favorite ebook retailer. Make sure it is the 2nd edition!
https://www.amazon.com/Meet-Wally-Street-Reason-Stupid/dp/1720401543
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