After a year of dwindling stock portfolios and 401Ks, there may be, finally, someone to blame. Prosecutors are after the necks, and the accounts, of big brokerage firms.
It seems every day there’s a new probe or lawsuit. Investigators are claiming that investment banks disregarded a fundamental ethical line, the so-called “chinese wall” that’s supposed to separate salesmanship from solid advice. Also in the mix: vengeance. Investors who lost want big, American lawsuit-style payback. On both sides of the legal battle there are promises of reform, from the investment bankers and the regulators.
An audit of responsibility and ethics, a recasting of the entire investment game. Wall Street, on the witness stand.
Guests:
Fred Isquith, co-lead counsel for a number of cases against investment banks
Charles Gasparino, senior special writer for the Wall Street Journal
Jim Stanton, an individual investment advisor, mans the website, www.lowriskstrategy.com.