Arbitration

Annuity Investor Loss Attorneys

Published on: June 1, 2023 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

For Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) Investors The Time To Act Is Now

Our Seasoned Annuity Investor Loss Attorneys May Be Able To Help You Go After Your Broker

Nearly two and a half years after Northstar Financial Services (Bermuda) filed for bankruptcy protection, there has been no significant progress in liquidation proceedings. If you are someone who invested in an annuity or annuity-like product from this offshore entity and suffered significant losses, the time to act is now.

Brokerage Firm Arbitration Lawyers

Published on: June 1, 2023 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

When A Brokerage Firm Violates Investors’ Best Interests Through Alleged Misconduct

FINRA Expels SW Financial For Allegedly Making Misrepresentations and Omissions

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has expelled SW Financial following multiple alleged violations related to Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI). The self-regulatory organization (SRO) contends that between January 2018 and December 2021, the broker-dealer and its co-owner Thomas Diamante made purported misrepresentations and omissions related to the sale of private placement offerings of pre-IPO securities and also allegedly engaged in churning and committed supervisory failures. This excessive trading allegedly impacted multiple customer accounts, resulting in costs of over $350K and losses greater than $465K.

Our Broker-dealer Arbitration Law Firm is Investigating Western International Securities

Published on: November 16, 2022 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Are You An Investor Who Suffered Losses While Working With a Western International Securities Financial Advisor?

Our FINRA Lawyers Are Investigating Ex-Western International Securities Broker Daniel Beech

Over the past year, Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, a Broker-dealer Arbitration Law Firm, (investorlawyers.com) have filed FINRA lawsuits on behalf of investors seeking to recover financial losses allegedly caused by the allegedly negligent actions of Western International Securities and a number of its financial advisors. We are also continuing to investigate the brokerage firm and its registered representatives for allegedly unsuitably recommending GWG Holdings L Bonds and other high-risk investments to retail customers and retirees.

When Failure To Supervise Requires a Broker Fraud Attorney

Published on: November 8, 2022 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

When Failure To Supervise Enables Broker Fraud

Texas Retirees Whose Financial Advisor Stole Their Savings File FINRA Arbitration Claim Against Planmember Securities

As their customer, your broker-dealer has a fiduciary duty to properly supervise your accounts and your financial advisor’s activities when working with you. Unfortunately, failure to supervise these types of financial firms happens way too often. This lack of oversight makes it easy for stockbroker mistakes and wrongful misconduct to happen, which can lead to serious investor losses. That is why it is important to know when failure to supervise requires a broker fraud attorney to recover losses.

What To Know About Suing Your Broker or Investment Adviser For Fraud In FINRA Arbitration During COVID-19

Published on: March 31, 2020 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Investment Losses During the Coronavirus Has Investors Scrambling for Answers

If you are like many Americans with investments, you may be struggling to grapple with the massive losses affecting your portfolio as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to wreak havoc on the economy, the markets, the job industry, and people’s lives.

What you may not realize is that your investment losses may also be a result of broker fraud or negligence on your stockbroker or investment adviser’s part, which is where our investor attorneys at Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm) can help you.

FINRA Cases: Allegis Investment Adviser and Ex-Broker Ordered to Pay Nearly $405K, Former Madison Avenues Securities Broker Accused in $1.67M Unauthorized Trading Case is Barred by FINRA, and US Senator Elizabeth Warren Introduces Bill To Address Unpaid Arbitration Awards

Published on: March 7, 2018 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

FINRA Arbitration Panel Awards Allegis Investment Advisors Client $404,482

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel has awarded Mark Watson $404,482 in his unauthorized trading case against Allegis Investment Services, Allegis Investment Advisors, and ex-broker Brandon Curt Stimpson. Watson is accusing Stimpson of placing his life savings in investments that were too risky and complex and of making unauthorized trades involving index put options connected to the Russell 2000 Index even though he had told the broker that he only wanted up to 25% of his portfolio involved in these. Instead, Watson alleges, Stimpson invested way more of his money in the index put options.

In his securities arbitration case, Watson also alleged breach of fiduciary duty. Now, a FINRA panel has awarded him nearly $275K in compensatory damages, nearly $54K in interest, and other costs.

Stimpson was fired by Allegis last year for not abiding by the firm’s ethics code and policies. According to his BrokerCheck records, he has been named in eight other customer disputes.

Puerto Rico Bond Fraud Cases Name Former Morgan Stanley Broker Angel Aquino-Velez

Published on: October 2, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to InvestmentNews, there are six pending FINRA arbitration claims against Morgan Stanley (MS) and its former broker Angel Aquino-Velez (Aquino-Velez) concerning his selling Puerto Rico investments. The claimants are alleging misrepresentation and unsuitability regarding the sale of Puerto Rico closed-end funds and bonds they purchased through Aquino-Velez, who is based in Miami, and the brokerage firm.

InvestmentNews also reports that according to FINRA’s BrokerCheck database, Morgan Stanley has already resolved four FINRA arbitration claims valued at $2.4 million related to Aquino-Velez and Puerto Rico municipal bond investments. Aquino-Velez, who left Morgan Stanley a few months ago, was recently selling Puerto Rico COFINA bonds, which are securities backed by the U.S. territory’s sales tax revenue. Prior to working at Morgan Stanley, Aquino-Velez was with UBS Financial Services (UBS) and Merrill Lynch (BAC).

Puerto Rico Bond Fraud Losses
At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LTD LLP, our Puerto Rico bond fraud lawyers have been working hard these past four years to help investors who sustained serious losses when the island’s municipal bonds began to fall in value in 2013. For many of our clients, their portfolios should not have been so heavily concentrated in Puerto Rico bond funds and bonds, if at all, except that they were given bad investment advice. Many investors lost everything.
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Hilliard Lyons Ordered to Pay $569K For Allegedly Overconcentrating Accounts in Breitburn Energy Partners

Published on: September 25, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel has ruled that Hilliard Lyons LLC must pay claimants Troy and Elizabeth Benitone $569K. Hilliard Lyons, the wealth investment firm is accused of overconcentrating the Benitones’ accounts in Breitburn Energy Partners stock.

The claimants, in their oil and gas fraud case, alleged breach of fiduciary duty, negligent misrepresentation and omission, common law fraud, breach of contract, and negligence supervision. The Benitones contend that Hilliard Lyons and its registered representative sold all of the claimants’ blue chip stocks, investing the money that was in their joint account and in Troy’s IRA in Breitburn. They lost $350K, with statutory damages at 10% on the purchase cost at $441K, from being over-concentrated in Breitburn.

The Benitones believe that it was the lack of diversification in their investments that put them at high risk of loss, especially as they had conservative investment goals and could not handle much risk at all. Also, Hilliard Lyons was the underwriter for the Breitburn Energy Partners stock.

FINRA Approves Wider Public Arbitrator List, Proposes Rule Change, and is Accused by Lawmakers of Not Doing Enough to Protect Investors From Bad Advisers

Published on: May 26, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory authority has broadened its list of public arbitrators to preside over cases. The self-regulatory organization will provide dispute participants with the names of 15 public arbitrators, instead of 10, from which to choose. FINRA’s Board also modified its eligibility requirements for who can chair an arbitration panel.

FINRA allows plaintiffs and defendants of arbitration cases to choose three arbitrators.

In other FINRA arbitration news, the SRO is asking the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to approve a proposed rule change that would allow monetary awards mandating that parties pay one another damages to be offset. This rule change is for situations in which an arbitration panel awards damages to both the respondent and claimant and one party can’t or doesn’t pay what it owes.

If approved, the rule would allow the party that owes more money to only have to pay the net difference. If arbitrators don’t mean for an award to be offset when both parties owe one another money, they must state so in the award notice.

North Carolina Retiree Couple Files FINRA Arbitration Case Against Morgan Stanley Over Energy Investment

Published on: March 8, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Two North Carolina investors have filed an arbitration claim with FINRA against Morgan Stanley (MS) over unsuitable investments involving the financial firm’s Cushing MLP High Income Exchange Traded Note. The married couple, who are retirees in their sixties, are accusing the brokerage firm of:

· Common law fraud

· Negligence

· Breach of fiduciary duty

· Negligent supervision

· Failure to adequately disclose the risks

In a phone interview with InvestmentNews, the claimants said that they have lost over $100K. According to the couple, a Morgan Stanley broker invested about $150,000 of their money in the Morgan Stanley Cushing MLP High Income ETN, which is an exchange traded note connected to master limited partnerships with shipping and energy assets. Their legal team said that the couple did not understand the extent of the risks involved in that they could potentially lose their principal. This was a loss they could not afford. Instead, the claimants were purportedly told that their investment would make them money.

The Cushing MLP High Income Exchange Traded Note seeks to give investors cash upon maturity or early repurchase, as well as variable coupon payments every quarter (depending on how the underlying index, performs). The claimants’ broker fraud lawyers believe that Morgan Stanley recommended the exchange traded note to investors who were seeking to make money but may not have understood or been fully apprised of all the risks.