Finra and state regulators have been keeping an eye out for mutual fund firms selling alternative strategy funds to less sophisticated investors, The Wall Street Journal James Sterngold writes. Regulators' concerns are heightened now that more average investors are flocking to alternative mutual funds and regulations on hedge fund advertising have weakened, Sterngold reports. Funds such as Fidelity [profile] are continuing to get on the bandwagon. The mutual fund firm gave clients access to an alternative fund run by hedge fund giant, Blackstone.

Sterngold reports that Massachusetts secretary of the commonwealth, William Galvin, sent subpoenas to 15 firms in July, looking for information on how the firms sell alt products to senior citizens. Massachusetts also ordered restitution from LPL Financial Holdings and Ameriprise Financial Columbia Management [profile] for selling unqualified investors non traded REITs with rates up to 7 percent and for sales that surpassed the state's limit to purchases that are 10 percent t of a customers liquid net worth, Sterngold writes.

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Edited by: Casey Quinlan


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