According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Damian Mamane (Mamane) has been the subject of at least one customer complaint. The customer complaint against Mamane alleges that the broker made unsuitable investments in equity and penny stock securities. Mamane entered the securities industry in…
The Massachusetts Office of the Secretary of Securities Division filed complaints against brokerage firm Securities America, Inc. (Securities America) and one of its financial advisors Barry Armstrong (Armstrong) concerning allegations that in 2014, Securities America authorized Armstrong to run a deceptive AM radio advertising campaign. According to the complaint, the…
According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Mark Kosanke (Kosanke) has been the subject of at least two customer complaints. The customer complaints against Kosanke allege a number of securities law violations including that the broker made unsuitable investments and misrepresentations and false statements…
InvestmentNews has reported that brokerage firm Voya Financial Advisors (Voya) changed its variable annuity selling policies by restricting the sale of contracts known as “L share” annuity contracts if the contract include riders. The change comes due to increasing pressure from regulators concerned about the products’ suitability for investors. The…
According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Richard Whitley (Whitley) has been the subject of at least 13 customer complaints and one regulatory action that has resulted in Whitley being barred. FINRA launched an investigation into claims that Whitley recommended unsuitable investments to customers.…
According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Justin Amaral (Amaral) has been barred for failing to respond to requests for information by the agency. The requests may have related to the reasons Morgan Stanley gave for terminating Amaral’s employment. Upon termination from Morgan Stanley…
This post continues our investigation into whether or not brokerage firms have a basis to continue to sell non-traded real estate investment trusts (Non-Traded REITs). Non-Traded REIT sales have exploded becoming the latest it product of Wall Street. However, experts and regulators have begun to question the basis for selling…
According to the BrokerCheck records kept by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Judith Woodhouse (Woodhouse) has been barred for failing to respond to requests for information by the agency. The requests may have related to the reasons Securities America, Inc. (Securities America) gave for terminating Woodhouse’s employment. Upon termination…
As longtime readers of our blog know we have reported numerous instances of sales and other practice violations regarding how brokers and brokerage firms sell non-traded real estate investment trusts (Non-Traded REITs). See list of articles below. As Non-Traded REITs have become the latest darling product of the financial industry…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a press release concerning two settlements fining Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC (Morgan Stanley) $650,000 and Scottrade, Inc. $300,000 for failing to implement reasonable supervisory systems to monitor the transmittal of customer funds to third-party accounts. The settlements included allegations that both firms…