Ever wonder how you can get shares of a hot IPO – initial stock offering?   Here’s the scoop. When a hot company’s IPO opens to the market,  both institutional and retail investors clamor to get a piece of the pie. Who are investors like you and me?   Wall Street calls...

If you did not plan for the US debt downgrade by Standards and Poors (S&P) two to three weeks ago, then it’s already too late.   Any actions that you take now, especially out of fear or panic, may make your situation worse.   The market already reacted to it with almost 10% loss...

Many people have heard about Bernard Madoff and how he arguably pulled off the longest and biggest Ponzi scheme in history.  It spanned decades.   Madoff used his professional reputation in the beginning to dazzle investors and lure them into his net.  However, as time went on, what drew...

Before I became a securities lawyer, I began working in New York City at a broker‑dealer.  It was 1994, and I was straight out of college and wet behind the ears.  I was tasked with making 300 cold calls per day to qualify investors (i.e., obtain leads) for a senior licensed stockbroker of...

When I do watch TV, it’s usually in the obscure hours of the night because I’m looking for a little break from reading prospectus or crunching numbers.  Of course, I’m inundated with infomercials of every kind.  The most frightening ones that I’ve seen so far has to...

Stop obsessing about your credit score.  Don’t pay for those services to monitor them or get a number.   Relax, ignore the scare-based tactics.   Your credit score depends on who pulls the report and how.  This is the secret the credit score industry doesn’t want you to...