The Financial Commonplace Book

Recent Posts from The Financial Commonplace Book

• Introducing Operation Homefront

  A significant part of the Firm’s Veterans Benefit Program is raising awareness about the many fantastic organizations that support our nation’s honorable veterans. One such organization is Operation Homefront, which provides assistance for our troops,…

• Introducing The Firm’s Newsletter – L’AWful Prose

  The inaugural issue of L’AWful Prose hit e-mailboxes around the country on November 15, 2009. It offers news and notes gleaned from my law practice – The Law Office of Ryan P. Smith, PLC –…

• Knight Kiplinger On The Crisis

  The present financial crisis has generated a tremendous amount of coverage and I am sure that much more is to come.   And rightfully so.  One of the more recent offerings is Knight Kiplinger’s column Lessons…

• Introducing NOVA

  On Veterans Day, I announced the opening of the Firm’s Veterans Benefits Practice.  An integral part of this practice is my membership in National Association of Veterans’ Advocates, Inc. — otherwise known as NOVA.  NOVA…

• Announcing The Firm’s New Veterans Benefits Practice

  America cherishes life. It treasures liberty. It provides every one of us with the opportunity to seek prosperity and happiness. America is a truly great nation and its existence would not be possible without our…

• Not Really A Securities Matter, But A Financial Matter Nonetheless

  In the November 2009 issue of SmartMoney, contributing editor Peter Keating wrote about the growing life insurance settlement industry and some of the issues surrounding it (see Liquid Life Insurance).  Although The Financial Commonplace Book…

• New Article: “What Exactly Is Arbitration?”

  I just posted a new article titled What Exactly Is Arbitration? to the Resources section.  I invite you to contact me if you have any questions or comments about this material.  (October 31, 2009)

• Annuities Continue To Be Popular

  SmartMoney’s November 2009 issue contains Problems? What Problems? (titled online as Annuities: Should You Resist?), another entry in the ongoing discussion concerning annuities.  In it, author Russell Pearlman reports that sales of fixed annuities, and…

• Proposed FINRA Rule 2232

  For some time now, FINRA has been performing an “extreme makeover” of its rulebook.  This is due, in part, to the merger of the NYSE’s and NASD’s regulatory arms a couple of years ago.  Now…

• FINRA’s Mea Culpa & More On The Proposed Fiduciary Standard

  The individual investor is the most important player in the financial markets, and unfortunately, our system has not sufficiently protected these individuals. We need to earn back the confidence of those investors by closing the…