Securities America reportedly has reached a settlement with hundreds of former clients who lost money on 2 private placements the firm sold - Medical Capital Holdings and Provident Royalties.  Both turned out to be frauds.  The financial advisory firm notified a number of plaintiff lawyers on Tuesday that enough clients had agreed to the settlement terms to make it work. 

In late March, Securities America and lawyers representing hundreds of its clients reached an agreement that would give investors about 45 cents on the dollar, or almost $180 million - much-improved over an earlier settlement offer of about 10 cents on the dollar that a Dallas judge had rejected.

High Stakes for Securities America and parent Ameriprise Financial.   Securities America had sold hundreds of private placement notes to clients in the two firms, and it later was sanctioned by FINRA for having failed to provide adequate due diligence;  hundreds of arbitration claims from investors followed.  At the time, Securities America said that a flood of successful arbitration claims could cripple the firm - and early results didn't bode well for the firm.  In January, an arbitration panel awarded one client nearly $1.2 million - which included $730K in restitution plus punitive damages.

Some client claims will continue in the courts and in arbitration.  [NYT Dealbook, 4/12]