Securities Lawyers Blog
The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating BrokerCheck records reports that Broker Stephen Krauss (Krauss), previously employed by LPL Financial LLC has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Krauss’s most recent customer complaint alleges that Krauss recommended unsuitable investments in structured products and makes allegations concerning misconduct relating to the handling of the customer’s accounts.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $16,502.00 on March 05, 2024.
03/28/2017 – 03/04/2024\, The client alleges that his advisor misrepresented the crediting\, on a JP Morgan S&P500 Dividend Aristocrats structured note.
Market data drives the performance of structured products, which can be viewed as a group of derivatives.
A structured product usually derives its market risk exposure from a specific reference source. The source can be a single security, a basket of securities such as a market index, commodities, interest rates, or a real estate loan portfolio. The variety of products that can be structured demonstrates the difficulty in formulating a single unified definition of a structured product.
Structured products typically offer less attractive risk/return profiles than conventional debt or equity investments, as issuing firms—mainly large banks—capitalize on the difference between investor returns and the earnings from issuing structured notes, after subtracting commissions and fees paid to brokers. Given the sophistication of these investments, most investors will be unable to fully understand their benefits or assess the chances of gains and losses. Many brokers falsely present these investments as fixed income or bond equivalents with capital return. The risk of loss in structured products is significantly higher than in corporate debt and other fixed-income options, making them an unsuitable fixed-income alternative.
Recently, firms have begun selling redeemable structured notes often linked to a single investment or a basket of investments. A few cases of structured products based on single securities reveal their excessive risk while lacking meaningful advantages. Our firm analyzed a structured note linked to the stock of Peloton that promised to investors 1.0625% interest monthly or 12.75% annually and another note linked to the stock of Zillow which promised a 12% annual interest payment paid monthly so long as the respective stock prices stayed above a referenced value. A decline of around 40% in both stocks would be required for the interest payment to be fully wiped out. In addition, if the stocks lost more than approximately 40% of their value then the investor would also lose their corresponding principal based upon the performance of the stocks and could lose their entire investment. Further, the notes were callable and could be cancelled by the sponsor.
These products are very high risk and low reward propositions because the investor can only profit at most by 12-12.75% over the course of one year. Even if Peloton or Zillow doubled in value all the investor could achieve would be the interest payment as their profit and none of the price appreciation. Meanwhile the maximum loss is 100% of the investment if the stocks fell severely. Accordingly, the investor takes dramatic downside risks associated with the volatile stocks while having no chance to participate in the success of the stock.
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.
Krauss has been in the securities industry for more than 13 years. Krauss has been registered as a Broker with LPL Financial LLC since 2014.
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.