The securities lawyers of Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating a customer complaints filed with The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against Allegis Investment Services, LLC and its affiliated investment advisory firm Allegis Investment Advisors, LLC (Allegis) concerning unsuitable trading involving options. According to the brokercheck records of one of the firms representatives, Peter Klaass (Klaass), the firm has been subject to at least six complaints through this advisor since October 2015. Klaass lists his D/B/A as the Bowen Group.
The customer complaints against Klaass allege securities law violations that including unsuitable investments among other claims. The most recent claim was filed in June 2016 and alleges that in the role of supervisor, Klaass failed to meet the standard of care and in August 2015 client suffered a loss of $400,000. The claim is currently pending. In another arbitration filed in April 2016, the customer alleged that the Advisory firm recommended a trading strategy without regard to the client’s age, investment experience, and risk tolerance. The customer is seeking $660,300 in damages. The claim is currently pending.
Brokers have a responsibility treat investors fairly which includes obligations such as making only suitable investments for the client. In order to make a suitable recommendation the broker must meet certain requirements. First, there must be reasonable basis for the recommendation the product or security based upon the broker’s investigation and due diligence into the investment’s properties including its benefits, risks, tax consequences, and other relevant factors. Second, the broker then must match the investment as being appropriate for the customer’s specific investment needs and objectives such as the client’s retirement status, long or short term goals, age, disability, income needs, or any other relevant factor.
Klaass entered the securities industry in 1993. From April 2011 through June 2014 Klaass was registered with Signator Financial Services, Inc. Thereafter, since May 2014, Klaass has been associated with Allegis Investment Services, LLC out of the firm’s South Jordan, Utah office location.
The number of events listed on Klaass brokercheck is high relative to his peers. According to InvestmentNews, only about 12% of financial advisors have any type of disclosure event on their records. Brokers must publicly disclose certain types of reportable events on their CRD including but not limited to customer complaints. In addition to disclosing client disputes brokers must divulge IRS tax liens, judgments, and criminal matters. However, FINRA’s records are not always complete according to a Wall Street Journal story that checked with 26 state regulators and found that at least 38,400 brokers had regulatory or financial red flags such as a personal bankruptcy that showed up in state records but not on BrokerCheck. More disturbing is the fact that 19,000 out of those 38,400 brokers had spotless BrokerCheck records.
The investment fraud attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP represent investors who have suffered securities losses due to the mishandling of their accounts. The majority of these claims may be brought in securities arbitration before FINRA. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.