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Articles Posted in Suitability

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Recently, Wade James Lawrence was barred from the financial industry by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Investors’ rights lawyers are exploring accusations made against Lawrence regarding misappropriation of funds during his time as a broker.  According to the FINRA report, Lawrence failed to respond to these allegations, and in doing so forfeited his opportunity to remain a practicing broker.

FINRA Bars Wade James Lawrence from Financial Industry

Lawrence’s most recent history as a broker was with Southwest Securities, where he was registered from August 2011 through December 2013.  Prior to that, he worked for Oppenheimer & Co. from June 2008 through July 2011, and Merrill Lynch from April 2003 through June 2008.   During his time at both Southwest Securities and Oppenheimer & Co., there were several complaints issued against Lawrence by customers who claimed to have received unsuitable recommendations.  One client even alleged that Lawrence borrowed $850,000 and failed to return the funds. This alleged borrowing occurred while Lawrence was with Oppenheimer & Co. and the FINRA report states that he intended to “…pay for the losses.  I [Lawrence] then voluntary resigned and left the appropriate funds in my personal account to be used to cover the losses.”  Despite this response, Lawrence failed to appear for testimony with FINRA regarding this, or any of the other complaints, which included additional allegations of misappropriated funds and failure to provide appropriate investment recommendations.

If you suffered significant losses as a result of doing business with Wade James Lawrence or believe that another stockbroker or financial advisor led you to inappropriately use investment funds, you may be able to recover your losses through securities arbitration.  To find out more about your legal rights and options, contact a securities fraud attorney at the Law Office of Christopher J. Gray, P.C. at (866) 966-9598 or newcases@investorlawyers.net for a no-cost, confidential consultation.

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Investors’ rights lawyers are advising senior investors to stay alert when looking at potential investment opportunities.  Recently,  a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) panel entered an arbitration award in favor of a senior couple against Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. regarding an investment made six years ago.

investment fraud laywer

Albertus Niehuis Jr. and his wife Andrea allegedly made an investment with Ameriprise Financial in early 2008 involving three high-risk tenant-in-common investments in hotels and office complexes. The total investment amount was $1.03 million.  One of these three investments failed completely, and the other two lost significant value.

Fortunately, Niehuis and his wife had the good sense to contact a securities arbitration lawyer, and their situation was put in front of a FINRA arbitration panel.  The FINRA panel found that Ameriprise’s investment advice was not appropriate considering the elderly couple’s risk tolerance and ordered Ameriprise to pay $1.17 million to the couple

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Some brokers might be facing investigation from stockbroker arbitration  lawyers after recommending that clients invest in DCM Alpha Fund LLC. According to the registration form filed with the SEC, DCM Alpha Fund is an unregistered pooled investment fund, which puts it in a different category than more traditional investments.  However, some stockbrokers and/or investment advisors may have marketed it as a safe investment.

Unregistered investments

 

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has established strict rules for different age groups, risk tolerances, investment objectives and net worth. These rules are meant to help ensure that no investor is taken advantage of, especially the elderly who are at an age where high-risk investment can be catastrophic.  Should a broker recommend a product like DCM Alpha Fund, he or she must believe that the investment is suitable given the customer’s life circumstances, risk tolerance, and other individual factors.

If you suffered significant losses as a result of investments in DCM Alpha Fund LLC or received an unsuitable recommendation of any unregistered investment from another stockbroker or financial advisor, you may be able to recover your losses through securities arbitration. To find out more about your legal rights and options, contact a stockbroker arbitration attorney at Law Office of Christopher J. Gray, P.C. at (866) 966-9598 or newcases@investorlawyers.net for a no-cost, confidential consultation.

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David Zeng was recently barred from working within the securities industry after he failed to respond to inquiries concerning over a dozen customer complaints about his investment activities.  These complaints alleged misrepresenting an investment, unauthorized stock trading, unsuitable investment advice and fraud.

investment fraud lawyers

 

Prior to starting with Merrill Lynch in 2009, Zeng worked for UBS Financial Services and before that for Morgan Stanley.

If you suffered significant losses as a result of doing business with David Zeng or received an unsuitable recommendation in any of the mentioned investment categories from another stockbroker or financial advisor, you may be able to recover your losses through securities arbitration. To find out more about your legal rights and options, contact a stock fraud lawyer at Law Office of Christopher J. Gray, P.C. at (866) 966-9598 or newcases@investorlawyers.net for a no-cost, confidential consultation.

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Securities arbitration attorneys are currently investigating claims on behalf of investors who suffered significant losses in AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company Equi-Vest or Accumulator variable annuity contracts — specifically those invested in the managed funds, AXA Tactical Manager Strategy or ATM-managed funds.

Equi-Vest, Accumulator Variable Annuity Investors Could Recover Losses

Reportedly, the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) launched an investigation in 2011 concerning alleged omissions on the part of AXA Equitable regarding its applications for approval to alter the Equi-Vest and Accumulator variable annuities.  The change would substitute ATM-managed funds for previous managers.  According to DFS’ allegations, AXA Equitable misled DFS regarding the change’s impact and failed to disclose the underperformance of the ATM funds under the previous managers.  Allegedly, these actions resulted in a reduced return for investors, especially for those who paid fees to receive guaranteed minimum benefits and those who wanted to be more aggressive in their investment strategy. In order to settle the investigation, AXA Equitable agreed to pay $20 million on March 17, 2014. 

Some AXA Equitable investors may have been misled about the variable annuity contract changes. In addition, certain characteristics of variable annuities, including high penalties for early withdrawal, long surrender periods and low rate of return, make these products unsuitable for many investors. Many brokers are motivated to make unsuitable recommendations because of the large commissions associated with variable annuities.

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While former stock promoter Robert J. Vitale sits in prison for two years for lying to investigators in a previous investigation about another matter, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to file fraud charges against him. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, accuses Vitale of defrauding investors in a real estate venture in Florida. While this investigation continues, victims of Vitale’s fraud are encouraged to begin talking with investment fraud lawyers, who may be able to help them recover their losses.

Investors May Recoup Losses as SEC Charges Robert J. Vitale with Fraud

Vitale is being charged with selling unregistered securities and acting as an unregistered broker. According to the charges, Vitale and his firm (Realty Acquisitions & Trust Inc.) were able to raise $8.7 million from their investors, many of whom were seniors who may now be looking to hire securities fraud lawyers to represent them in filing their claims. In a news release, the SEC stated that Vitale allegedly led the investors to believe that their money was “100% protected” even though that was untrue. That charge (if found guilty) could give the defrauded victims and their investment fraud lawyers great leverage during arbitration.

To get investors, Vitale also allegedly claimed to hold a business degree from the University of Notre Dame, and that he was a financial expert. While Vitale did go to Notre Dame high school in West Haven, Connecticut, he did not go to the South Bend, Indiana college. Also named in the complaint was the Coral Springs Investment Group (also known as Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Company), which stands accused of holding onto assets of the investors that should have been returned.

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Investor arbitration lawyers continue to investigate claims on behalf of customers of VSR Financial Services regarding the unsuitable recommendation and sale of alternative investments.

More Claims Filed Against VSR Brokers for Unsuitable Alternative Investments

Another claim was filed recently against one broker registered with VSR Financial Services, Dennis Van Patter. This particular claim is regarding the following alternative investments:

  • Inland American Real Estate Trust
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Securities attorneys are currently investigating claims on behalf of the customers of Christopher B. Birli and Patrick W. Chapin, who suffered significant losses as a result of misrepresentations and unsuitable recommendations of variable annuities. Reportedly, Birli and Chapin received significant sales commissions for allegedly unsuitable recommendations to their customers.

Customers Could Recover Losses for Unsuitable MetLife Variable Annuity Recommendations

On March 27, a complaint was filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Office of Hearing Officers against Birli and Chapin regarding the State University of New York retirement program. According to the complaint, Birli and Chapin recommended their customers switch MetLife variable Annuities with new ones held outside the retirement plan in MetLife IRA accounts.

Allegedly, Birli and Chapin circumvented their firm’s general prohibition of direct annuities exchange by recommending to their customers that they surrender their annuities to purchase another product available within the retirement program, wait 90 days, and then sell the second product in order to purchase the MetLife IRA annuity.

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Lawyers are investigating claims on behalf of investors who suffered significant losses in exchange-traded notes (ETNs) and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) issued by Credit Suisse and other full-service brokerage firms.

ETF, ETN Investors Could Recover Losses

According to Bloomberg, the $45,000 loss suffered by Jeff Steckbeck in TVIX, a Credit Suisse Group AG note, has set off a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Reportedly, ETNs became more popular with the TVIX in February 2012. That month, Credit Suisse stopped selling the ETN and rising demand caused the investment to veer up to 89 percent from the index. When Credit Suisse began issuing the notes again in March of that year, a FINRA warning cautioned investors that ETNs could trade at a price that was higher than their underlying index.

Bloomberg data indicates that the estimated initial value of the securities is typically 2 to 4 percent less than the price investors paid. Exchange-traded notes like TVIX mimic assets through the use of derivatives and their value is based on volatility shifts in the market. However, the ETN market is small beans compared to the ETF market, which has around $2.4 trillion in assets.

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According to one claim that was recently filed, Morgan Stanley advisors recommended that one couple invest all their money into bonds issued by Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corp., Puerto Rico Public Finance Corp. and Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, when a low-risk, safe, fixed-income portfolio would have been more suitable for the couple. The claim is seeking to recover $200,000 in damages. According to stock fraud lawyers, Puerto Rico Bonds and bond funds were unsuitable for many investors given their age, investment objectives and risk tolerance.

Morgan Stanley Customers Could Recover Losses for Unsuitable Puerto Rico Bond Sales
Allegedly, Morgan Stanley did not adequately disclose the risk associated with the recommended investment strategy of concentrating all of their funds into these three investments. The firm also allegedly failed to adequately disclose the risks associated with low credit ratings and long-duration bonds. Allegedly, the couple was led to believe that the Puerto Rico Bonds were constitutionally guaranteed by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Some of the bonds and bond funds currently being investigated by securities fraud attorneys are:

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