+1-888-741-7503

|Richard@frankowskifirm.com

About Richard Frankowski

This author has not yet filled in any details.
So far Richard Frankowski has created 573 blog entries.

FINRA Fines Barclays Capital $13.75M

FINRA ordered Barclays Capital, Inc. to pay over $10 million in restitution, including interest, to affected customers for mutual fund-related suitability violations. These suitability violations relate to an array of mutual fund transactions including mutual fund switches. Further, the firm failed to provide applicable breakpoint discounts to particular customers and was censured and fined $3.75 million. Broker-dealers have an obligation to ensure that any recommendation to switch mutual funds be evaluated with regard to the net investment advantage to the investor. FINRA noted that “switching among certain fund types may be difficult to justify if the financial gain or investment objective to be achieved by the switch is undermined by the transaction fees associated with the switch.” FINRA found that from January 2010 through June 2015, Barclays’ supervisory systems were insufficient to prevent unsuitable switching or to meet certain of the firm’s obligations regarding the sale of mutual funds to retail brokerage customers. In particular, the firm incorrectly defined a [...]

By |December 29th, 2015|FINRA, Press Releases & News|
Read More

Morgan Stanley To Pay $8.8M For Unsupervised Trading

The SEC ordered Morgan Stanley Investment Management and brokerage firm Societe Generale Americas to pay $8.8 million and $1 million respectively for what it says was unsupervised prearranged trading conducted by a portfolio manager and a trader. In what the SEC called an attempt to give certain clients preferential treatment, Morgan Stanley portfolio manager Sheila Huang allegedly arranged the sales of mortgage-backed securities to Societe Generale trader Yimin Ge at predetermined prices in 2011 and 2012. She then bought them back at a small markup. She also sold bonds at above-market prices but repurchased them at “unfavorable prices,” without disclosing this to the client, a scheme called "parking." Marshall S. Sprung, co-chief of the SEC Enforcement Division's Asset Management Unit, said Morgan Stanley failed to see what Ms. Huang was doing because of the firm's lack of supervisory oversight and failure to implement policies against these acts. “Instead of playing by the rules, [Ms.] Huang engaged in prearranged trading schemes that benefited some [...]

By |December 28th, 2015|Broker Check, FINRA, Press Releases & News|
Read More

Lawsuit Alleges Fiduciary Breach Under ERISA

A class-action lawsuit was filed last week alleging breach of fiduciary duty resulting from excessive record-keeping fees and use of proprietary investment funds. The suit, Pledger et al. v. Reliance Trust Co. et al., targets the fiduciaries of the Insperity 401(k) Plan for allegedly causing participants to pay excessive fees to the plan record keeper, Insperity Retirement Services. The complaint further alleges that Insperity and Reliance Trust Co., the plan's discretionary trustee, breached their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 by offering funds with high expenses and poor performance, including proprietary mutual funds and collective investment trusts offered by Reliance. Insperity also failed to adequately monitor Reliance, a fiduciary responsible for investment selection in the plan. “We allege that Insperity and Reliance Trust together operated the plan for their own self-interest, sending excessive record-keeping fees to Insperity's in-house record keeper,” said one of the plaintiffs' attorneys. “Reliance Trust was a fiduciary responsible for investment selection and [...]

By |December 28th, 2015|Press Releases & News|
Read More

FINRA December 2015 Disciplinary Actions: Part III

Denny P. Darmodihardjo (Roswell, GA) submitted an AWC in which he was assessed a deferred fine of $25,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for 18 months. FINRA found that he engaged in excessive and unsuitable trading in a customer’s accounts. The findings stated that Darmodihardjo made recommendations for the accounts of the customer who, at the time, was a retiree in his late seventies living on a fixed income and caring for his adult child. Darmodihardjo used this control to excessively trade the accounts in a manner that was inconsistent with the customer’s investment objectives, financial situation and needs. The findings also stated that Darmodihardjo recommended unsuitable short-selling and margin use in transactions for the same customer. Despite losses being incurred in the customer’s accounts, Darmodihardjo did not cease the active trading strategy. The suspension is in effect from October 19, 2015, through April 18, 2017. Anthony Clyde Gray (Baton Rouge, LA) submitted an AWC [...]

By |December 28th, 2015|FINRA, Fraud, Press Releases & News|
Read More

Fill Out The Form To Receive A Free Confidential Consultation

Consultation

The recoveries, verdicts, favorable outcomes, and testimonials described on this site are not an indication of future results. Every case is different, and regardless of what friends, family, or other individuals may say about what a case is worth, each case must be evaluated on its own facts and circumstances as they apply to the law. The valuation of a case depends on facts, the damages, the jurisdiction, the venue, the witnesses, the parties, and the testimony, among many other factors. No representation is made that the quality of the legal services performed is greater than the quality of the legal services performed by other lawyers.

Disclaimer: Mr. Frankowski is licensed in Alabama,Florida and Texas. He is not licensed in any other state including Nevada and California. Mr. Frankowski has represented investors from all over the country in securities cases including: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas.