On March 24, 2014, LPL Financial LLC, the fourth largest broker dealer, measured by number of salespersons, was fined $950,000 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for failing to supervise the way that its brokers marketed and sold nontraditional investments. The fine is one of many that have recently…
On March 12, 2014, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that it sanctioned and fined Triad Advisors and Securities America, $650,000 and $625,000, respectively, for failing to supervise the use of consolidated reporting systems, after brokers from the firms inaccurately represented the value of some customer holdings, often inflating…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) maintains a public database, called BrokerCheck, which acts as a free tool for investors looking to research the backgrounds of FINRA registered personnel. BrokerCheck covers brokerage firms, brokers, investment adviser firms and representatives. Searches allow investors to draw upon filings by firms, regulators, and…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sanctioned Centaurus Financial, Inc., (Centaurus) concerning allegations that Centaurus failed to supervise the business activities of five representative in the dissemination of communications concerning the risks of certain private placements. FINRA fined the firm $25,000 Centaurus became a FINRA member firm in 1993 and…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined Barclays Capital Inc. (Barclays) $3.75 million for systemic failures relating to the failure to preserve electronic records, emails, and instant messages in the manner required for a period of at least 10 years. The retention of electronic correspondence and records is critical for…
On December 11, 2013, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sanctioned broker Michael T. Ryan. Mr. Ryan was registered with FINRA brokerage firms from 1992 until November 1, 2013, including an eight-year stint with Securities America, Inc. (Securities America) and two years with Newport Coast Securities. The basis for the…
The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP recently filed a complaint with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on behalf of a former NFL athlete alleging that the brokerage firm Resource Horizons Group LLC (Resource Horizons) failed to supervise Robert Gist (Gist), one of the firm’s associated persons. The claimant…
As we have reported, claims of churning, excessive trading, and failure to supervise have plagued J.P. Turner & Company, L.L.C. (JP Turner) brokers, among other misconduct. Recently, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) imposed sanctions against Herman Mannings (Mannings), a JP Turner supervisor, concerning allegations that from February 2009, through…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sanctioned broker Center Street Securities, Inc. (Center Street) concerning allegations that the firm failed to establish, maintain, and enforce adequate supervisory systems and written supervisory procedures to monitor the use of external email accounts to conduct firm-related business by the firm’s registered representatives. The…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sanctioned brokerage firm Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. concerning allegations that from January 2009, to July 2010, Cambridge failed to ensure that the firm preserved, maintained, and reviewed the business emails of two of its registered representatives. FINRA found that during this time Cambridge was…