Securities Lawyers Blog
The investment lawyers at Gana Weinstein LLP have experience helping investors determine whether their portfolio losses at investment firms, such as Open To the Public Investing, Inc., were caused by broker misconduct. There are many different ways that your broker can impermissibly drain your accounts. Our attorneys can help you understand the cause of your investment losses, uncover misconduct, and apply the law to hold accountable those responsible.
Open to the Public Investing is the introducing broker-dealer behind the Public investing app and website, offering retail investors trading in United States listed stocks, ETFs, OTC securities, options, corporate and government bonds, margin accounts, and Traditional and Roth IRAs. Formed in New York in 2003, the firm clears and custodies customer accounts through Apex Clearing and is affiliated with the registered investment adviser Public Advisors.
Open To the Public Investing, Inc. – By the Numbers:
- CRD #: 127818
- Regulatory Events: 4
- Broker Employees: 36
Open To the Public Investing, Inc. – In the News:
FINRA v. Open To the Public Investing, Inc. (Case #2021072581501) – From January 2020 to at least September 2022, Public Investing paid individuals with followings on social media sites (commonly known as “influencers”) to promote the firm in social media communications. Some of those communications included statements that were not fair and balanced or made claims that were misleading or unwarranted. Therefore, the firm violated FINRA Rules 2210(d) and 2010. From January 2020 to March 2023, Public Investing also did not review and maintain records of all retail communications disseminated on the firm’s behalf by its influencers, and failed to establish, maintain, and enforce a reasonably designed supervision system with respect to such communications. Therefore, the firm violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 § 17(a), Exchange Act Rule 17a-4, and FINRA Rules 2210(b), 4511, 3110, and 2010.
FINRA v. Open To the Public Investing, Inc. (Case #2021072127701) – From May 2020 through September 2022, Public Investing failed to establish, maintain, and enforce a reasonably designed supervisory system, including written supervisory procedures (WSPs), for its fully paid securities lending business. Therefore, the firm violated FINRA Rules 3110 and 2010. From May 2020 through November 2022, the firm distributed documents to more than 1.5 million retail investors containing misrepresentations about the compensation that those investors would receive for participating in fully paid securities lending. By making these misleading statements to customers, Public Investing violated FINRA Rule 2010. The misstatements also violated the content standards of FINRA’s advertising rule; therefore, the firm also violated FINRA Rules 2210(d) and 2010.
FINRA v. Open To the Public Investing, Inc. (Case #2020065340901) – From January 2019 through February 2021, Public Investing did not conduct reasonable reviews of the execution quality of its customers’ orders. During this period, Public Investing’s reviews of its customers’ execution quality were limited to reviewing its clearing firm’s quarterly reports prepared pursuant to Rule 606 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These reports did not provide any data specific to Public Investing’s execution quality or the quality of the executions it could have obtained from competing markets. As a result, Public Investing violated FINRA Rules 5310(a), 5310.09(a) and (b), and 2010. During the same period, Public Investing failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system, including written supervisory procedures (WSPs), reasonably designed to achieve compliance with its best execution obligations. The firm’s supervisory reviews were not reasonably designed to evaluate whether the firm was meeting its best execution obligations, and its WSPs did not provide any procedures for conducting execution quality reviews. As a result, Public Investing violated FINRA Rules 3110 and 2010. From January 2019 to December 2020, Public Investing also failed to disclose in writing at account opening or annually thereafter that the firm received payment for order flow through its routing arrangements, in violation of Rule 607(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and FINRA Rule 2010. Additionally, from January 2019 to October 2021, Public Investing violated FINRA Rules 2210(d)(1)(A) and (B) and 2010 by disseminating six retail communications that contained misleading statements.
Gana Weinstein LLP has successfully handled hundreds of customer investment disputes with their brokerage firms. Our attorneys can help you detect and uncover suspicious activity in your accounts. Our consultations are free and we welcome all inquiries.