Articles Posted in Regulation Best Interest

The local Virginia Securities Fraud Lawyers of Greco & Greco are currently representing multiple Virginia customers of Richmond, Virginia based broker John Starke. These claims for investment losses have been filed in FINRA arbitration against Mr. Starke’s brokerage firm, Centaurus Financial. As shown by Mr. Starke’s FINRA Brokercheck report, found here, in the last two…

FINRA announced last month that it has barred Charlotte, North Carolina based financial advisor Christopher J. Carpenter. The FINRA Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent states that Mr. Carpenter failed to produce documents or information requested in response to a FINRA investigation. The investigation allegedly was initiated in response to a Uniform Termination Notice for…

The online FINRA Brokercheck report for former Western International broker Chris Kennedy shows eleven different customer complaints. These complaints include allegations of unauthorized trading, unsuitability, breach of fiduciary duty, and other wrongful conduct. Many of the complaints have been settled, with one settled for over 2.7 million dollars. The Brokercheck report also states that Western…

Our securities fraud blog has previously addressed the risks to investors regarding inverse and leveraged ETFs. A new type of ETF has emerged, however, which can carry even higher risks. The North American Securities Administrators Association recently issued an advisory to investors regarding single stock ETFs. Inverse and leveraged single stock ETFs are complex instruments…

New Jersey securities broker Carz Levinski Craffey (aka Caz Craffy) was recently barred from the securities industry by securities regulator FINRA. Mr. Craffy had been registered with Monmouth Capital Management and previously was registered with Newbridge Securities Corp. Mr. Craffy’s Brokercheck report from FINRA discloses that he was discharged by Monmouth for failing to “disclose…

FINRA censured, fined, and ordered restitution payments from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based Janney Montgomery Scott last month. The Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent (AWC) discussed how two of Janney’s advisors “recommended that 11 customers unsuitably concentrate their accounts in certain energy-sector securities, including master limited partnerships focused on the exploration or development of natural resources”…

The United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued a Staff Bulletin which discussed the use of sales contests or other sales incentives by FINRA Broker-Dealer firms in the context of SEC Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI). Reg BI, 17 CFR 240-15l-1, specifically describes the “best interest” obligation as follows in section (a)(1): “A broker,…

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a Complaint charging a Broker-Dealer for the first time with a violation of the recently enacted Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI). The subject of the Complaint was Western International Securities, and five of its registered brokers, Nancy Cole, Patrick Egan, Andy Gitipityapon, Steven Graham, and…