Investor Lawyers Blog
If you have invested with financial advisor Lisa J. Lowi (a/k/a Lisa Jacqueline Lowi, Lisa Lowi, Lisa Jacqueline Vineberg) (CRD# 1347790) and have sustained losses, you may be able to recover your losses in FINRA arbitration. According to publicly available information through FINRA, on November 3, 2017, Ms. Lowi consented to being barred from the securities industry. Specifically, FINRA enforcement sent Ms. Lowi a written request for on-the-record testimony earlier this year, and following her refusal to appear for testimony, FINRA proceeded to bar Ms. Lowi from future work as a registered representative soliciting securities, effective November 3, 2017. Before being barred, Ms. Lowi was a long-time financial advisor, having first entered the industry in 1985. Ms. Lowi was most recently associated with RBC Capital Markets, LLC (“RBC”) (CRD# 31194) (2009-2015), and most recently, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (“Janney Montgomery”) (CRD# 463) (2015-2016).
FINRA BrokerCheck indicates that Ms. Lowi has been named as a Respondent or otherwise involved in a total of thirty-seven (37) customer disputes. Review of BrokerCheck appears to indicate that many of these disputes concern allegedly unsuitable investments in high-risk and speculative “junk bonds” in the oil and gas sector. A number of Ms. Lowi’s former clients have alleged that she overconcentrated their investment portfolios in speculative junk bonds. Generally, junk bonds are a high-risk / high-yield investment that offer the potential for enhanced income, in exchange for the increased risk of default. In the event of default, an investor will no longer receive periodic bond coupon (or interest) payments.
Investing in an appropriate allocation of junk bonds may possibly be part of an overall appropriate investment strategy, provided the investor is fully informed of the risks such that he or she is capable of absorbing potential losses. However, overconcentrating an investor in junk bonds is likely a recipe for disaster, particularly in instances where the investor’s stated investment objectives and risk profile suggest that investing in junk bonds is unsuitable.
Financial advisors, including Ms. Lowi, are required to perform adequate due diligence on an investment before recommending it to an investor. Further, financial advisors are required to perform a suitability analysis on an investment in order to determine if the risk / return profile on the investment is in keeping with the customer’s stated investment objectives and additional criteria, including the customer’s age, net worth and income, risk tolerance, and prior experience with investing.
Moreover, brokerage firms like Janney Montgomery and RBC have a duty to ensure that their registered representatives are adequately supervised. As part of this mandate, brokerage firms must take reasonable steps to ensure that their financial advisors follow all applicable securities rules and regulations, which includes FINRA’s well-known suitability rule. In instances when brokerage firms fail to adequately supervise their registered representatives, they may be liable for losses sustained by investors.
At Law Office of Christopher J. Gray, P.C., our securities attorneys have successfully resolved a number of FINRA arbitration cases on behalf of investors, including losses sustained due to unsuitable recommendations and unsuitable investment strategies, as well as related broker misconduct. Investors who wish to discuss a possible claim may contact a securities arbitration attorney via the contact form on this website, by telephone at (866) 966-9598, or by e-mail at newcases@investorlawyers.net for a no-cost, confidential consultation.