Securities Lawyers Blog
According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Glenn Flessas (Flessas), currently associated with Bankers Life Securities, INC., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Flessas 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 $11,634.00 on April 26, 2021.
In a written complaint received on April 26, 2021, addressed to Bankers Life and Casualty Company (BLC), an insurance company affiliate of the Firm, client alleged that he was not aware of restrictions pertaining to access of the money used to fund a Premium Bonus Indexed Annuity (PBIA) which was purchased from BLC in October of 2020 and requested a full refund. BLC determined that the PBIA was consistent with the client’s stated financial goals, but released the full amount back to the client without penalty. While the annuity sold to client was not a security and was issued by BLC, the Firm is reporting this complaint because the source of funding for the BLC annuity came from the sale of securities recommended by a registered representative of this Firm.
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 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. 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.
Another aspect of the care obligation is focusing on the client’s specific needs which brokers must reasonably 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. 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 key obligations that associated persons must meet in dispensing advice. The care obligation requires registered representatives to carefully evaluate investment options, review the risks and rewards of the investment or service, compare similar products, and ensure that the recommended investment is appropriate for the customer and in the retail investor’s best interest.
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. Finally, the financial advisor must use their knowledge of both their reasonable diligence into investment options as well as their knowledge of the investor’s client specific needs to consider reasonably available investment options. Those investment options must allow the broker to determine that there is a reasonable basis that the recommendation 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.
Flessas entered the securities industry in 2004. Flessas has been registered as a Broker with Bankers Life Securities, INC. since 2016.
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.