Nov 7, 2021

Boca Raton, Florida FINRA Securities Arbitration Attorney

Did Dawson James Securities Cause You Investment Losses? Dawson James Securities of Boca Raton, Florida submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in which they were fined $20,000 and ordered to pay $7,083.93, plus interest, in restitution. The sanctions were based on findings that Dawson James charged customers excessive commissions in violation of FINRA Rules 2121 and 2010. Dawson James has been a member of FINRA since 2004 and currently employs approximately 40 registered representatives. According to FINRA’s findings, from June 2015 through April 2020, Dawson James allegedly charged customers $7,083.93 of commissions on a total of 236 transactions. The findings state that the commissions charged were unreasonable and excessive considering that they ranged from approximately five percent to 66 percent of the transactions’ principal value. In addition, FINRA states that if a member acts as an agent for his customer, the member shall not charge his customers more than a fair commission or service charge, taking into consideration all relevant circumstances. FINRA Rule 2010 requires that “[a] member, in the conduct of its business, shall observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade.” A violation of FINRA Rule 2121 constitutes a violation of FINRA Rule 2010. FINRA Rule 2121 Supplementary Material .01 set a guideline of five percent for determining whether a commission is unfair or unreasonable. However, the “5% Policy” is a guide, not a rule. A commission pattern of five percent or even less may be considered unfair or unreasonable. Do You Need a Florida FINRA Securities Arbitration Attorney? Are you a Boca Raton, Florida investor who has suffered significant losses in your stock brokerage and investment accounts?  Did your Florida stockbroker or investment advisor misrepresent facts, fail to disclose facts making the statements made false and misleading, recommend unsuitable investments or strategies, excessively trade or churn, mismanage your investment account or engage in other kinds of stockbroker misconduct? If so, you need representation by an experienced, highly-rated and nationally recognized FINRA securities arbitration attorney—a lawyer who knows FINRA rules and procedures inside and out and how to handle these FINRA arbitration cases as well as other complex legal issues.  Free Initial Consultation With Experienced FINRA Securities Arbitration Attorneys Serving Boca Raton, Florida Residents In FINRA Arbitration Proceedings At The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A.  we represent investors in all kinds of securities, commodities and investment law disputes in FINRA, AAA and JAMS arbitration and mediation proceedings. Attorney Pearce and his staff represent investors throughout Florida and across the United States on a CONTINGENCY FEE basis which means you pay nothing – NO FEES-NO COSTS – unless we put money in your pocket after receiving a settlement or FINRA arbitration award. Se habla español For dedicated representation by Attorney Pearce with over 40 years of experience and success in all kinds of securities, commodities and investment law disputes serving Florida citizens, contact the firm by phone at 561-338-0037, toll free at 800-732-2889 or via e-mail.

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Aug 19, 2021

Boca Raton, Florida Lawyer Who Sues Stockbrokers For Unsuitable Investment Recommendations

Did Jeffrey Fladell Cause You Investment Losses? Jeffrey Fladell of Boca Raton, Florida submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in which he was fined $5,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in all capacities for a period of three months. The sanctions were based on findings that he allegedly made unsuitable recommendations which resulted in overconcentration in high-yield municipal bonds in violation of MSRB Rule G-19. The suspension was in effect from April 5, 2021, through July 4, 2021. In October 2009, Jeffrey Fladell joined RBC Capital Markets LLC while registered as a General securities Representative and as a General Securities Principal. According to FINRA’s findings, Fladell repeatedly recommended that a customer over 100 years old, invest in bonds using both of her trust accounts that had an investment objective with low risk tolerance. The findings state that 86 percent of one trust account and 100 percent of the other consisted of risky high-yield municipal bonds within a year period due to the unsuitable recommendations. Although Jeffrey Fladell is not currently registered or associated with a FINRA member firm, he remains subject to FINRA’s jurisdiction. MSRB Rule G-19 requires that a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer “have a reasonable basis to believe that a recommended transaction or investment strategy involving a municipal security or municipal securities is suitable for the customer, based on the information obtained through the reasonable diligence of the broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer to ascertain the customer’s investment profile. A customer’s investment profile includes, but is not limited to, the customer’s age, other investments, financial situation and needs, tax status, investment objectives, investment experience, investment time horizon, liquidity needs, risk tolerance, and any other information the customer may disclose to the broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer in connection with such recommendation.” Do You Need a Florida Unsuitable Investment Recommendation Attorney? Are you a Florida investor who has suffered significant losses in your stock brokerage and investment accounts?  Did they recommend unsuitable securities transactions or strategies? Suitability claims can be based upon the stockbroker or investment advisor’s fiduciary duty, duty to use reasonable care, or FINRA Rule 2111. If you believe that your stockbroker or investment advisor made unsuitable recommendations, you need a skilled securities arbitration attorney who knows all the investments, investment strategies and stockbroker tricks of the trade. Free Initial Consultation With Experienced Lawyers Serving Boca Raton, Florida Residents in FINRA Securities Arbitrations Involving Unsuitable Investment Claims At The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A.  we represent investors in all kinds of securities, commodities and investment law disputes in FINRA, AAA and JAMS arbitration and mediation proceedings. Attorney Pearce and his staff represent investors throughout Florida, and across the United States on a CONTINGENCY FEE basis which means you pay nothing – NO FEES-NO COSTS – unless we put money in your pocket after receiving a settlement or FINRA arbitration award. Se habla español For dedicated representation by Attorney Pearce with over 40 years of experience and success in all kinds of securities, commodities and investment law disputes serving Florida citizens, contact the firm by phone at 561-338-0037, toll free at 800-732-2889 or via e-mail.

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Dec 28, 2020

Boca Raton, Florida FINRA Securities Arbitration Lawyer

Did ViewTrade Securities, Inc. Cause You Investment Losses? ViewTrade Securities, Inc. of Boca Raton, Florida was censured and fined $25,000 for allegedly selling returned shares to investors who did not have unfilled orders as required and failed to send confirmation to investors who purchased shares. Due to the misconduct, the firm was in violation of Rule 10b-10 of the Securities Exchange Act and FINRA Rules 5131(d)(3), 2232 and  2010. Since 1999, ViewTrade has been a FINRA member firm and employs approximately 40 registered representatives. According to the FINRA findings, ViewTrade was the lead placement agent in connection with an initial public offering (IPO). The findings stated that after the offering was closed, the firm began contacting investors to reduce their subscription amounts because it exceeded the maximum share cap. The findings stated that due to the cancellations, 4,525 shares were returned to ViewTrade and sold to two investors who gained a profit of $30,428.75 instead of the 17 investors who had unfilled orders. In addition, ViewTrade allegedly failed to provide trade confirmations to 113 investors in the offering. FINRA Rule 5131 governs new issue allocations and distributions. Specifically, Rule 5131(d)(3) addresses circumstances when new issue shares, trading at a premium in the secondary market, are returned to the agent or underwriter who participated in the distribution of the shares. Under that section, the member firm participating in a distribution of new issue shares is required to have an agreement in place to appropriately handle “any shares trading at a premium to the public offering price that are returned by a purchaser . . . after secondary market trading commences.” The Rule requires that when such shares are returned, the firm must use them to offset any existing syndicate short position or, if no short position exists, either (1) offer the returned shares “at the public offering price to unfilled customers’ orders pursuant to a random allocation methodology,” or (2) sell the shares on the secondary market and donate the profits to an unaffiliated charitable organization anonymously to avoid any reputational benefit to the member. Exchange Act Rule 10b-10 and FINRA Rule 2232 require broker-dealers to “give or send” customers specified information at or before the completion of securities transactions (confirmation). Do You Need a Boca Raton, Florida FINRA Securities Arbitration Attorney? Are you a Boca Raton, Florida investor who has suffered significant losses in your stock brokerage and investment accounts?  Did your Boca Raton, Florida stockbroker or investment advisor misrepresent facts, fail to disclose facts making the statements made false and misleading, recommend unsuitable investments or strategies, excessively trade or churn, mismanage your investment account or engage in other kinds of stockbroker misconduct? If so, you need representation by an experienced, highly-rated and nationally recognized FINRA securities arbitration attorney—a lawyer who knows FINRA rules and procedures inside and out and how to handle these FINRA arbitration cases as well as other complex legal issues.  Free Initial Consultation With Experienced FINRA Securities Arbitration Lawyers Serving Boca Raton, Florida Residents In FINRA Arbitration Proceedings At The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A.  we represent investors in all kinds of securities, commodities and investment law disputes in FINRA, AAA and JAMS arbitration and mediation proceedings. Attorney Pearce and his staff represent investors throughout Florida, and across the United States on a CONTINGENCY FEE basis which means you pay nothing – NO FEES-NO COSTS – unless we put money in your pocket after receiving a settlement or FINRA arbitration award. Se habla español For dedicated representation by Attorney Pearce with over 40 years of experience and success in all kinds of securities, commodities and investment law disputes serving Florida citizens, contact the firm by phone at 561-338-0037, toll free at 800-732-2889 or via e-mail. 

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