FINRA fines Pro Equities $200,000.
In October, 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) announced that Pro Equities of Birmingham, AL submitted an acceptance, waiver and consent letter regarding its failure to supervise sales of non-traditional exchange traded funds (ETFs). The firm was fined $200,000 by FINRA.
FINRA’s allegations against Pro Equities concerned the firm’s failure to establish, implement and maintain an adequate supervisory system to oversee the firm’s sales of ETFs to customers. The AWC stated that the firm did not have a supervisory system in place to gauge suitability or to supervise the recommendations of these non-traditional ETFs, and failed to provide training to its registered representatives on the risks and unique characteristics of the ETFs.
FINRA also found Pro Equities’ supervisory system in regards to its sales of variable annuities and the 1035 exchange process was insufficient to address suitability issues.
Registration and disciplinary history
In order to lawfully sell investments to the public, a firm must either be registered or exempt from registration. Pro Equities is an Alabama corporation formed in 1984 and registered with FINRA, the SEC and in 52 states and territories.
According to FINRA’s CRD disclosure report, Pro Equities has been the subject of seven customer complaints and fifty six regulatory investigations.
The Law Office of David Liebrader practices exclusively in the field of investment loss recovery. For the past 23 years, we have dedicated our law practice to assisting investors who have been victims of investment fraud via fraudulent and unsuitable investment transactions. During that time we have recovered money for over one thousand individuals, pension plans, trusts and companies. The recoveries we have obtained via judgments, awards and settlements on behalf of our clients exceed $40,000,000.
When investors contact our firm they can expect prompt attention, and a detailed analysis of their issues. Typical claims that we are asked to review involve “unsuitability (where a financial advisor makes investment recommendations that are inconsistent with a customer’s investment objectives), claims for “churning” (where a broker enters into an excessive number of trades for the purpose of generating commissions), claims involving illiquid investments such as private placements (I.e., real estate investment trusts, limited partnerships, equipment leasing and oil and gas drilling programs) as well as claims for violations of state securities laws, which often provide investors remedies like attorney’s fees and interest, if they are successful on the claim.
If you suspect that you have been the victim of investment fraud, or had a financial advisor recommend unsuitable investments to you, call us today for a free, confidential consultation at (702) 380-3131.