Securities Lawyers Blog
According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Brian Titus (Titus), currently associated with Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC, has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Titus recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint with a damage request of $100,000.00 on November 08, 2022.
Claimant was a McDonald’s employee who left the company in November 2020 and claims that, upon his departure, he was entitled to exercise vested stock options. Claimant alleges that defendants had a responsibility to notify him that his stock options had expired. Claimant alleges that Ameriprise breached its fiduciary duty by failing to search for information to inform him of the expiration date of his McDonalds stock options.
In the financial industry advisors must meet the requirements of the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) in providing investment advice and services. Reg BI established 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 a registered representative is providing investment advice through making recommendations customers and covers securities transaction, investment strategies, and recommendations concerning advice on opening of an account or accounts.
The care obligation also requires the broker to address the client’s specific needs through obtaining specific investment profile information on the client. The associated person typically will ask the customer for information such as the investor’s risk tolerance or ability to withstand account value declines or increases; experience with investments available; investment objectives and goals; investment time horizon; liquidity needs; assets such as investment accounts held at other financial institutions; tax information; their age and retirement plans; and other information that a customer may want to provide to the advisor to help them to properly address the services needed. 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. Reg BI comes with different core obligations that brokers must comply with. There is the duty of care obligation requiring financial advisors to form a reasonable belief that their investment advice and recommendations are in the retail investor’s best interest among other duties. In order to do that the broker must evaluate the potential risks, rewards, and costs associated with a product, account type, or series of transactions being recommended.
Next, the broker must understand the investor’s investment background and profile. A customer’s profile includes information that describes the investor’s financial situation and needs. Information here will include their outside securities accounts and investments; relevant assets and debts; tax bracket; age; liquidity needs; risk tolerance; investment time horizon; experience with investing; investment objectives; and any other relevant information that the investor may choose to disclose pertinent to their situation. The associated person must then apply both their reasonable diligence into various investment options as well as the information gathered as to the investor’s specific needs when considering the investment recommendation. The broker must explore various alternative investment options available to address these needs and determine that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the recommendation or service being recommended is in the retail investor’s best interest. Brokerage firms and advisors must also understand the features and limitations of various account types as part of meeting Reg BI’s care obligations. Firms typically offer a variety of account options and services with different trading costs, services, such as account and activity monitoring. An advisor’s recommendation as to what type of securities account to open can alter the customers’ overall costs and investment returns. The advisor must determine that the client can benefit from the type of account being recommended to be opened and in the investor’s best interest taking into account the costs, benefits, and needs of the client.
Titus entered the securities industry in 2001. Titus has been registered as a Broker with Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC since 2001.
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.