According to BrokerCheck records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker Nathan Wells (Wells), currently associated with Cetera Wealth Services, LLC, has been subject to at least 2 disclosable events. These events include 2 customer complaints. Several of those complaints against Wells concern allegations of high frequency trading activity also referred to as churning or excessive trading among other securities laws violations.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint with a damage request of $100,000.00 on July 13, 2023.
Claimant alleges that Representative failed to disclose the risks, illiquidity, and high commissions associated with Representative’s recommendation of two non-traded investment vehicles. Claimant further alleges that the recommended products were not in Claimant’s best interest.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint with a damage request of $100,000.00 on May 26, 2023.
Claimants allege that, in April of 2014, Representative failed to advise the Claimants of the risks and illiquid nature of two investment products. Claimants further allege the recommended investments were unsuitable.
Should a broker participate in excessive trading, or churning, they may repeatedly buy and sell securities, occasionally even the same stock, within a short span of time. Often times the account will completely “turnover” every month with different securities. The sole purpose of this kind of investment trading activity in a client’s account is to generate commissions that benefit the broker, not the investor. Churning is regarded as a specific category of securities fraud. The key components of the claim include excessive securities transactions, broker dominance over the account, and an intent to defraud the investor by securing illegal commissions. A similar claim, excessive trading, under FINRA’s suitability rule involves just the first two elements. Certain commonly used measures and ratios used to determine churning help evaluate a churning claim. These ratios look at how frequently the account is turned over plus whether or not the expenses incurred in the account made it unreasonable that the investor could reasonably profit from the activity.
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. In addition, research has shown a disturbing pattern with troublesome brokers where brokers with high numbers of customer complaints are not kicked out of the industry but instead these brokers are sifted to lower quality brokerage firms with loose hiring practices and higher rates of customer complaints. These lower quality firms may average brokers with five times as many complaints as the industry average.
Wells entered the securities industry in 2008. Wells has been registered as a Broker with Cetera Wealth Services, LLC since 2021.
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.