Mass. Probes Banks Over Sales of Complex Financial Instruments

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin said Wednesday he is investigating Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and other broker/dealers over sales of complex investments, particularly structured products and annuities, Reuters reports.

Products such as equity-indexed annuities are frequently expensive and carry penalties for early withdrawals.

“We are looking at this matter to put more attention on the rising popularity of these instruments because they are far more complex than buying a stock, and we want to be sure that customers are informed about the potential risks,” said Brian McNiff, Galvin’s spokesman.

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