The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating BrokerCheck records reports that Broker Anthony D’angelo (D’angelo), currently employed by Fmsbonds, INC. has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), D’angelo’s most recent customer complaint alleges that D’angelo recommended unsuitable investments in structured products and makes allegations concerning misconduct relating to the handling of the customer’s accounts.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint with a damage request of $25,000.00 on September 24, 2024.
In the wake of the pandemic, customer alleges that he wanted to sell his bond position during their technical default/bankruptcy when there was still a market for them mid 2022 . Now 2024 there is no market and the bonds have not been restructured. Alleges broker did not follow instructions, provided poor information and customer service.
Structured products are a class of derivative products that derive their performance from market linked data. The market risk of a structured product is typically linked to an underlying reference. The source may be a single security, a collection of securities like a market index, commodities, interest rates, or a real estate loan portfolio. The variety of products that can be structured demonstrates the difficulty in formulating a single unified definition of a structured product.
Since large banks issuing structured products seek to maximize their profits, these products often provide suboptimal risk/return profiles relative to traditional debt or equity instruments due to the spread between investor payouts and the revenues generated from issuing structured notes, minus broker commissions and fees. The intricate nature of these products makes it difficult for most investors to fully comprehend their advantages or calculate the risks and potential returns. Many brokers falsely present these investments as fixed income or bond equivalents with capital return. Given the high risk of loss relative to corporate debt and other fixed-income options, structured products are generally unsuitable as fixed-income alternatives.
Recently, firms have begun selling redeemable structured notes often linked to a single investment or a basket of investments. The extreme risk of structured products associated with single securities is evident in multiple examples, showing little to no real benefit. Our firm assessed a structured note linked to Peloton’s stock that provided investors with 1.0625% interest per month (12.75% annually) and another note tied to Zillow’s stock, offering a 12% annual interest paid monthly, conditional on the stock prices maintaining a level above the referenced value. Both stocks could lose around 40% of their value before the interest payment would be eliminated entirely. In addition, if the stocks lost more than approximately 40% of their value then the investor would also lose their corresponding principal based upon the performance of the stocks and could lose their entire investment. Further, the notes were callable and could be cancelled by the sponsor.
These products are very high risk and low reward propositions because the investor can only profit at most by 12-12.75% over the course of one year. Even if Peloton or Zillow doubled in value all the investor could achieve would be the interest payment as their profit and none of the price appreciation. Meanwhile the maximum loss is 100% of the investment if the stocks fell severely. Accordingly, the investor takes dramatic downside risks associated with the volatile stocks while having no chance to participate in the success of the stock.
According to newsources, a study revealed that 7.3% of financial advisors had a customer complaint on their record when records from 2005 to 2015 were examined. Brokers must publicly disclose reportable events on their BrokerCheck reports that include customer complaints, IRS tax liens, judgments, investigations, terminations, and criminal cases.
D’angelo entered the securities industry in 2009. D’angelo has been registered as a Broker with Fmsbonds, INC. since 2009.
Investors who have suffered losses are encouraged to contact us at (800) 810-4262 for consultation. At Gana Weinstein LLP, our attorneys are experienced representing investors who have suffered securities losses due to the mishandling of their accounts. Claims may be brought in securities arbitration before FINRA. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.