Securities Lawyers Blog
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sanctioned broker Douglas Campbell Jr. (Campbell) concerning allegations that between May 2008 and September 2008, while registered with Wedbush Morgan Securities, Inc. (Wedbush), he engaged in unsuitable trading a customer’s account by recommending purchases of three speculative private placement investments that were not consistent with the customer’s investment objectives, resulting in an overconcentration in the customer’s account. FINRA found that Campbell’s recommendations were made without reasonable grounds for believing that they were suitable for the customer.
In addition, according to Campbell’s public records four customers have filed complaints concerning Campbell’s investment advice. These statistics are troubling because multiple customer complaints on a broker’s record are rare. According to InvestmentNews, only about 12% of financial advisors have any type of disclosure event on their records. These disclosures do not necessarily have to include customer complaints but can include IRS tax liens, judgments, and even criminal matters. The number of brokers with multiple customer complaints is far smaller. The complaints against Campbell alleged fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, excessive trading, and unsuitable investments.
Campbell first became registered with FINRA in 1994. On July 9, 2007, Campbell became registered Wedbush. On November 29, 2012, Wedbush filed a Form U5 reporting that Campbell voluntarily terminated his employment on November 26, 2012.