Securities Lawyers Blog
According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Jason Stone (Stone), currently associated with Arkadios Capital, has at least 2 disclosable events. These events include 2 customer complaints, alleging that Stone 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 $2,000,000.00 on November 06, 2024.
Customer alleges breach of fiduciary duty, lack of suitability, and overconcentration in Alternative Investments. Further allegations are misrepresentation and omission of material facts and lack of supervision.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $100,000.00 on May 28, 2024.
Claimants allege failure to supervise, breach of contract, material misrepresentations, breach of fiduciary duty and lack of suitability in regard to recommendations in alternative products
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. 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.Another aspect of the care obligation is focusing on the client’s specific needs which brokers must reasonable 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. Using the foregoing information, the associated person then must consider reasonably available investment option to accomplish the investor’s goals as well as alternative investment options that may be cheaper or other important qualities. Finally, the advisor must conclude that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the recommendation being provided is in the investor’s best interest.
An advisor must understand the type of account, securities, and their client in order to meet their care obligations. The type of securities account has the potential to greatly affect retail customers’ costs and investment returns. Different types of securities accounts can offer different features, products, or services, and not all types of accounts or services would be in every investor’s best interest.
Stone entered the securities industry in 2007. Stone has been registered as a Broker with Arkadios Capital since 2024.
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.