Securities Lawyers Blog
According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker Howard Roth (Roth), currently associated with David Lerner Associates, INC., has at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint, alleging that Roth recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint with a damage request of $125,000.00 on September 08, 2025.
October 22, 2015 the date of the first purchase of Energy 11 to September 8, 2025 the date the SOC was received.
Financial Advisors providing advice to retail investors are required to adhere to the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI). Reg BI applies a ‘best interest’ standard for broker-dealers and their associated people. 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 brokers make recommendations to retail customer for any securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities, including recommendations of types of 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. The Reg BI rule applies a fiduciary principles and requires an associated person to act in the retail investor’s “best interests” while barring the broker from placing their own financial interests and compensation incentives ahead of the investor’s best interest. There are different sub-parts of the Reg BI rule that financial professionals must comply with when providing advice. Among those is the duty of care obligation that mandates associated persons to evaluate investment options, review and be knowledgeable the risks and rewards of the investment or service, compare alternative investment products, and ensure that the overall investment strategy aligns with the client’s goals and is in their best interests.
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. Using the foregoing information, the associated person then must consider reasonably available investment option to accomplish the investor’s goals as well as alternative investment options that may be cheaper or other important qualities. Finally, the advisor must conclude that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the recommendation being provided is in the 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.
Roth entered the securities industry in 1979. Roth has been registered as a Broker with David Lerner Associates, INC. since 1979.
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.