AMW LAW PLLC BLOG

NEWS & ANALYSIS

Welcome to AMW Law PLLC’s legal blog, where we break down the complexities of securities laws, rules and regulations for investors and financial professionals alike.

Our posts are organized into four focused categories: Smart Investor Insights offers practical guidance on fraud risks, recovery options, and protecting your investments; Broker Compliance Center provides financial professionals with updates and strategies for staying compliant and defending against regulatory actions; Securities Law Updates highlights key developments from FINRA, the SEC, and the courts that shape the legal landscape; and Our Legal Services gives an inside look at how we help clients pursue and defend securities-related claims.

Whether you're safeguarding your portfolio or your professional standing, our goal is to keep you informed, prepared, and empowered.

Kalshi's Event Contracts Are Gambling: Calling Them 'Swaps' Does Not Change What They Are

Kalshi's Event Contracts Are Gambling: Calling Them 'Swaps' Does Not Change What They Are A wager does not become a financial instrument simply because it is written as a yes-or-no contract, traded on an exchange, and assigned a price between zero and one dollar. Sometimes a bet is simply a bet. That basic point is now at the center of a petition asking the United States Supreme Court to decide whether Kalshi can offer sports wagering nationwide while avoiding the gambling la

Artur M. Wlazlo

Non-Traditional ETFs: Where Innovation Meets a Higher Compliance Bar & Risks

Non-Traditional ETFs: Where Innovation Meets a Higher Compliance Bar & Risks Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are often marketed—and understood—as simple: low-cost, diversified, and easy to trade. But a subset of ETFs operates very differently. Leveraged and inverse ETFs, often grouped under the industry label “non-traditional ETFs,” are designed to deliver a multiple of an index’s daily return, the inverse of an index’s daily return, or both—typically over a single trading day

Artur M. Wlazlo

FINRA’s Spartan Capital Private Placement Case, Part 2: Due Diligence Failures, Conflicts, and Lessons for Investors and Firms

Due Diligence Failures, Conflicts, and Lessons for Investors and Firms This article is Part 2 of a two-part series on FINRA’s enforcement case against Spartan Capital Securities. In Part 1, I explain the Atlas/StraightPath structure, how private placements work, and how Reg BI applies. You can read Part 1 here . In Part 1 of this series, I described FINRA’s complaint against Spartan Capital Securities, LLC, its CEO John Lowry, and its then–interim CCO, Kim Monchik, and walke

Artur M. Wlazlo

FINRA’s Spartan Capital Private Placement Case, Part 1: Private Placements, Reg BI, and the Atlas Funds Structure

Private Placements, Reg BI, and the Atlas Funds Structure This article is Part 1 of a two-part series on FINRA’s enforcement case against Spartan Capital Securities involving private placements and pre-IPO funds. In Part 2, I dig into FINRA’s specific due diligence and supervisory allegations and what they mean for investors and financial professionals. You can read Part 2 here . In November 2025, FINRA’s Department of Enforcement filed a disciplinary complaint against Spar

Artur M. Wlazlo

From Investing to Entertainment: How Gamification of Trading is Reshaping Financial Markets

From Investing to Entertainment: How Gamification of Trading is Reshaping Financial Markets The gamification of securities trading has emerged as a transformative force in financial markets, fundamentally altering how investors, particularly retail traders, make investment decisions and engage with trading platforms. As I see it, gamification operates on two fronts. First, by integrating game-like design features into trading applications, such as interactive visuals, rewards

Artur M. Wlazlo

Record-Breaking FINRA Arbitration Award: Over $100 Million Awarded to Investors in Structured Notes Arbitration

Record-Breaking FINRA Arbitration Award: Over $100 Million Awarded to Investors in Structured Notes Arbitration In an unprecedented decision, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has awarded over $100 million in damages to investors who suffered significant losses after their brokers recommended investments in structured notes. The award included over $26 million in compensatory damages and $79 million in punitive damages. The total award is set

Artur M. Wlazlo

Decoding Volatility-Linked Exchange Traded Products (ETPs): A Deep Dive into Their Hidden Risks and What Investors Need to Know

Volatility-Linked Investments and Their Hidden Risks While no single definition describes what a complex investment product is, it is generally understood that these are financial products and instruments, including leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and Notes (ETNs), and other derivative securities (collectively, referred to as exchange-traded products or ETPs), that pose unique and significant risks to investors due to their intricate and difficult-to-unders

Artur M. Wlazlo

Investment & Regulatory Risks in Private Placements: Due Diligence, Investor Fraud and Protections

Private Placement Offerings Private placements are a method of raising capital in which securities are sold directly to a select group of investors, typically institutional or accredited, instead of through a public offering. These transactions are usually exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, enabling issuers to bypass the extensive disclosures and regulatory challenges associated with public offerings. Private placements are commonly utili

Artur M. Wlazlo

The Curious Case of XRP: How One Digital Currency Can be Simultaneously Security and Non-Security under SEC v. Ripple Labs

Cryptocurrency: Security and Non-Security under SEC v. Ripple Labs In the evolving landscape of digital assets and cryptocurrencies, whether a particular token qualifies as a security remains a contentious legal issue. The United States District Court’s decision in SEC v. Ripple Labs, Inc. (Case No. 20 Civ. 10832) sheds light on how a single digital asset—XRP—can be deemed both a security and not a security, depending on the context in which it is sold. This seemingly parado

Artur M. Wlazlo

Cryptocurrency Assets: Investment and Regulatory Risks that Investors and Financial Professionals Should Know.

Cryptocurrency Assets: Investment and Regulatory Risks that Investors and Financial Professionals Should Know. Cryptocurrency is a type of digital asset that uses cryptography for security. Cryptography secures communication and information through complex codes, ensuring transaction authenticity, integrity, and confidentiality. By leveraging cryptographic techniques, cryptocurrencies ensure secure peer-to-peer transactions without the need for intermediaries like banks. Cryp

Artur M. Wlazlo