Most Common Investment Adviser Violations
Six investment adviser violations make up roughly 60% of all deficiencies the SEC’s staff find when they investigate adviser offices, according to Renee Esfandiary, assistant director of the SEC’s Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations. The investment adviser violations include: Compliance Rule Violations include not have written policies and procedures to ensure firm operations adhere to […]
Questar Advisor Allegedly Sold Fraudulent Securities
The Frankowski Firm is investigating complaints regarding and the termination of former Questar Capital Corporation advisor Kevin Wanner. The complaints allege that The North Dakota Securities Department issued a cease and desist order claiming that Wanner sold time certificate of deposit securities purporting to represent an investment in an FDIC insured interest bearing account and further misrepresented […]
Craig Scott Capital Subject Of FINRA Complaint
FINRA recently filed an amended complaint against Craig Scott Capital, LLC and its co-founders, Craig Scott Taddonio and Brent Morgan Porges, alleging, among other things, excessive trading, churning, failure to supervise. Churning and Excessive Trading According to the complaint, Respondents churned and excessively traded Craig Scott Capital customer accounts. They encouraged their sales team to […]
Broker Lies About Charging $11M In Commissions For Nontraded REITs and BDCs
FINRA charged a broker for lying to a Native American tribe about the $11 million in commissions he charged when he sold the tribe $190 million in nontraded real estate investment trusts and business development companies. Between June 2011 and January 2015, broker Gopi Krishna Vungarala “regularly lied to his customer, a Native American tribe, regarding […]
Stephens, Inc. Submits AWC Letter To FINRA For Failing To Apply Sales Charge Discounts
Stephens, Inc. submitted a letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent to FINRA for failing to apply sales charge discounts to certain customers’ eligible purchases of unit investment trusts (“UITs”) between June 1, 2010 and May 31, 2015 in violation of FINRA’s rules. Stephens alse failed to establish, maintain, and enforce a supervisory system and written […]
Frankowski Firm Investigating UBS Broker
The Frankowski Firm is currently investigating the possible wrongdoing of current UBS Financial Services broker Bradley Ross of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, Ross has been the subject of a number of customer complaints. In 2015, a customer alleged Ross, while employed at UBS, recommended investments not consistent with their risk tolerance. The […]
Biggest FINRA Penalties In 2015
The biggest penalties FINRA levied last came from a wide variety of violations: Puerto Rico The Puerto Rico bond crisis was the source of a couple substantial FINRA actions. The regulator fined UBS Financial Services Inc. of Puerto Rico $7.5 million and ordered restitution of $11 million to 165 customers who had bought Puerto Rican […]
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 […]
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 […]
FINRA December 2015 Disciplinary Actions: Part II
Wunderlich Securities, Inc. (Memphis, TN) submitted an AWC in which the firm was censured and fined $50,000. FINRA found that it failed to establish, maintain, and enforce an adequate supervisory system and written procedures regarding the preparation and dissemination of consolidated reports. The findings stated that although the firm’s WSPs expressly permitted the preparation and dissemination […]