Chronos Group Investigation

On March 2, Chronos Group, a Cronos Group, global cannabinoid company with international production and distribution announced that it was unable to complete its financial report and statements for fiscal 2019 because its audit committee, outside counsel and forensic accountants are reviewing several bulk resin purchases and sales of products through its wholesale channel and the appropriateness of the recognition of revenue from those transactions.

On Friday March 20, the company sent an email to its staff asking them to keep specific records due to a “confidential and non-public inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Commission,” according to MarketWatch. That "inquiry" is undoubtedly an SEC subpoena or voluntary request for production of documents.

A shareholder class action has been filed against Cronos for investors who bought the stock between May 9, 2019 and March 2, 2020. Being part of a class action is not always the best remedy for individual investors. If you bought Cronos stock during this period contact Sallah Astarita & Cox, to learn about your rights and ways you might recover your losses. 

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Sallah Astarita & Cox, LLC is a national securities law firm whose partners are former SEC Staff Attorneys and Broker-Dealer attorneys, representing investors and financial professionals nationwide. Call 212-509-6544 to speak to an experienced securities attorney.

Investor Alert: Market Risk: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You

FINRA has reissued an investor alert regarding market risk, to remind investors that  investing involves risks as well as rewards and that, generally speaking, the higher the risk, the greater the potential reward.

FINRA believes that "[w]hile it is important to consider the risks in the context of a specific investment or asset class, it is equally critical that investors consider market risk."

Common market risks include Interest Rate Risk, Inflation Risk, Currency Risk, Liquidity Risk, Sociopolitical Risk, Country Risk and Legal Remedies Risk.

Each of these market risks are discussed in the alert, as well as suggestions for managing these risks.

'Market Risk: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You | FINRA.org

BlackRock Betting Big Data Can Provide Boost

BlackRock Inc CEO Larry Fink is betting that a trillion points of data can help revive his firm's ailing stock-picking business.

Even though BlackRock replaced many of its fundamental active equity managers over the past few years, a number of the firm's stock-picking funds are underperforming.

Investors have pulled $7.5 billion from the funds over the past year, according to Morningstar.

To address this, the world's largest asset manager is taking the secret data sauce of its team of quantitative managers, academics and data engineers and feeding it to all of its portfolio managers, including its fundamental active equity team.

The goal: to arm its portfolio managers with data to give them an analytical advantage.

The information ranges from satellite images of cars in retailer parking lots to shipping trends to word search analytics in company earnings calls."

More at BlackRock betting big data can help revive its active equity funds

Let Us Know - Ebola Related Scams

While there have been a significant number of deaths from Ebola, the "outbreak" seemed to be largely a news story scam, at least in the United States.

It is therefore hard to believe that a serious investor would even consider an investment in an Ebola treatment/cure/vaccine. But apparently that is not the case.

FINRA has released an "investor alert" regarding Ebola related scams. FINRA advises "[i]f you are considering investing in a company that purports to develop products or services relating to Ebola, be aware that fraudsters often attempt to take advantage of the news as a hook for investment schemes touting “the latest growth industry” whether it be oil and gas, virtual currency, or marijuana."

Be on the lookout for such scams, and if you come across one, please let us know.

For more information - Investor Alert: Investment Scams Involving Ebola-Related Companies

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The attorneys at Sallah Astarita & Cox include veteran securities litigators and former SEC Enforcement Attorneys. We have decades of experience in securities litigation matters, nationwide. For more information call 212-509-6544 or send an email.

SEC, FINRA Issue Investor Alert On Pension or Settlement Income Streams

The SEC and FINRA issued an investor alert entitled Pension or Settlement Income Streams – What You Need to Know Before Buying or Selling Them. The investor alert informs investors about the risks involved when selling their rights to an income stream or investing in someone else’s income stream.  

The alert urges investors considering an investment in pension or settlement income streams to proceed with caution. Anyone receiving a monthly pension or regular distributions from a settlement following a personal injury lawsuit may be targeted by salespeople offering an immediate lump sum in exchange for the rights to some or all of the payments the person would otherwise receive in future. 

ypically, recipients of a pension or structured settlement will sign over the rights to some or all of their monthly payments to a factoring company in return for a lump-sum amount, which will almost always be significantly lower than the present value of that future income stream.

“Investors should always learn as much as possible before making an investment decision, and this is certainly true with respect to investing in pension or structured settlement income stream products,” said Lori J. Schock, Director of the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy.   “This alert will help investors understand the costs as well as the potentially significant risks of these transactions.”

SEC, FINRA Issue Investor Alert On Pension or Settlement Income Streams; Release No. 2013-86; May 9, 2013