Unsuitable ETF Recommendation Lawyer - Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce

Nov 3, 2017

WFG Investments Representative Suspended for Unsuitable ETF Recommendations

Jay Dee Jordan, a former registered representative with WFG Investments, Inc. submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) in which he was barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for recommending and executing hundreds of unsuitable non-traditional exchange traded fund (ETF) purchases in his customers’ accounts. FINRA found that Mr. Jordan’s unsuitable recommendations and ETF purchases resulted in his clients’ accounts sustaining realized and unrealized losses of more than $8.4 million. FINRA found that Jay Dee Jordan, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, recommended that his clients purchase over $22 million in non-traditional ETFs. Of the 84 accounts in which Mr. Jordan recommended the non-traditional ETFs, 79 of these accounts held ETF positions for longer than thirty days, and on numerous occasions, the ETF positions were held for years. According to FINRA, Mr. Jordan routinely failed to sell these complex products on the same day he purchased them and did not have a reasonable basis to believe that his long-term buy-and-hold recommendations were suitable for his customers.

Jul 31, 2017

Oppenheimer Broker Suspended for Unsuitable ETF Recommendations

Edward McFarlane, a registered representative formerly employed with Oppenheimer & Co. Oppenheimer), submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC), in which he consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that he recommended and effected unsuitable ETF recommendations in his customer’s account, resulting in losses to his customer of approximately $48,524.79. Edward Thomas McFarlane, of Glenside, Pennsylvania, allegedly recommended and effected approximately 169 transactions involving inverse, leveraged, and inverse-leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs). FINRA found that Mr. McFarlane recommended that the non-traditional ETFs be held in his customer’s account for as long as 470 days, with an average holding time of 40 days. The ETFs recommended by Mr. McFarlane were intended to be short-term trading vehicles and not meant to be long-term investments.

Jun 30, 2017

GF Investment Services Broker Barred by FINRA for Unsuitable ETF Hold Recommendations

Richard William Lunn Martin, a former registered representative with GF Investment Services, LLC, submitted an Offer of Settlement in which he was barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) due to findings that he made unsuitable ETF hold recommendations which resulted in losses to his customers of approximately $2.4 million. Richard William Lunn Martin, of Johor, Malaysia, allegedly solicited, purchased and recommended his customers hold non-traditional ETFs in their accounts for years – an unsuitable recommendation for any customer. Non-traditional ETFs are typically designed to achieve their objectives over the course of one trading session, i.e., one day. In fact, FINRA Regulatory Notice 09-31 advises broker dealers and their registered representatives that non-traditional ETFs “are typically not suitable for retail investors who plan to hold them for more than one trading session, particularly in volatile markets.”