Securities Lawyers Blog
According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Archie Hansley (Hansley), currently associated with Bankers Life Securities, INC., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Hansley recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $26,613.00 on August 18, 2025.
Bankers Life and Casualty Company (BLC), an affiliated insurance company of Bankers Life Securities, Inc. (BLS), received a written complaint from a client and provided a copy to BLS on August 18, 2025. In the complaint, the client alleged that they were misled by their financial representative regarding the terms of three annuity contracts purchased through BLC in 2024. The client stated that they had requested investment products similar to those held with another firm, specifically a 401(k), Roth IRA, and savings account, but were instead sold annuity contracts. The client further alleged that they were not informed of the surrender charges associated with accessing their funds and is requesting that the annuities be canceled without surrender penalties. While the BLC annuities are not securities and were issued by BLC, the Firm is reporting this complaint because the annuities were funded by the recommendation to liquidate securities by a financial representative of the Firm.
When your financial advisor is providing advice they must adhere to the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) rule and standard of care. Reg BI replaced the former “suitability” rule and created a ‘best interest’ standard for brokerage firms and registered representatives. This Reg BI standard of care applies to registered representatives making recommendations to customers in the purchase, sale, or exchange of securities or the implementation of investment strategies involving securities and non-securities. The rule also applies to the handling of opening accounts such as account transfers and types of accounts being recommended to be opened. This standard applies when brokers make recommendations to retail customer for any securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities, including recommendations of types of accounts.
Another aspect of the care obligation is focusing on the client’s specific needs which brokers must reasonably understand through obtaining information for the client’s investment profile. In completing a customer’s investment profile the advisor should include information such as the investor’s investment time horizon; liquidity needs; risk tolerance; experience with various investment vehicles; investment objectives and financial goals; assets and debts including outside investment accounts; marital status; tax information; age; and other relevant information that may be individual to the investor that the advisor would need to know to properly render advice or provide services. Reg BI is drawn from fiduciary principles that include an obligation to act in the retail investor’s best interest and the broker is prohibited from placing their own interests ahead of the investor’s interest. There are different sub-parts of the Reg BI rule that financial professionals must comply with when providing advice. Among those is the duty of care obligation that mandates associated persons to evaluate investment options, review and be knowledgeable the risks and rewards of the investment or service, compare alternative investment products, and ensure that the overall investment strategy aligns with the client’s goals and is in their best interests.
Next, the advisor must have a reasonable understanding of the specific retail investor’s investment profile. The customer’s profile information generally includes an investor’s financial situation and needs; investments; assets and debts; marital status; tax status; age; investment time horizon; liquidity needs; risk tolerance; investment experience; investment objectives and financial goals; and any other information the retail investor may disclose in connection with the recommendation or advice. Finally, the financial advisor must use their knowledge of both their reasonable diligence into investment options as well as their knowledge of the investor’s client specific needs to consider reasonably available investment options. Those investment options must allow the broker to determine that there is a reasonable basis that the recommendation is in the retail investor’s best interest. In addition to specific investments being recommended, under Reg BI, a broker must also understand the type of account that their client would need in order to meet their care obligations. The SEC has stated that the type of securities account an investor has can greatly affect a customers’ costs and overall investment returns. Further, different account types can offer and support different features, products, securities, or services, and account type would not be appropriately applied in a one size fits all manner.
Hansley entered the securities industry in 2018. Hansley has been registered as a Broker with Bankers Life Securities, INC. since 2018.
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.