Disputes and judgments

Clients with a dispute against their advisor are often compelled to pay upfront for arbitration, which is unfair, write attorneys Christine Lazaro and Michael Edmiston.

Although in-person hearings aren’t banned outright, none have taken place since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The rarely dinged firm joined peers grappling with two issues: mutual fund fees and supervision of advisors who've been sanctioned multiple times.

The representative had already been permitted to resign and suspended by state regulators, but the firm lost its case for additional damages.

Richard G. Cody, formerly of Boston Investment Partners, allowed his clients’ accounts to dwindle to almost nothing, according to the Justice Department.

The No. 1 IBD cleared him of any wrongdoing then said he still faced the probe after leaving the firm months later, according to the lawsuit.

In addition to winning a $25,000 award, ex-J.P. Morgan rep Mihail Naumovski was able to expunge erroneous information on his Form U5 that he violated investment-related regulations.

The firm falsely claimed on his Form U5 that he deliberately changed a customer’s address from California to New Hampshire to facilitate the sale of an annuity, the broker alleged.

The regulator moved to eliminate a $400 fee for “explained decisions.”

Fearing the broker would leave, Citi distorted incidents he had with two colleagues in order to fire him and take his $200 million book of business, the broker’s lawyer says.

How advisors deal with grievances and arbitration can make or break a career.

The Swiss wirehouse hit the founding partners of an $8 billion firm with a lawsuit.

U.S. attorneys have opened criminal inquiries to look into both potential corporate and individual wrongdoing, according to a person familiar with the Justice Department investigation.

FINRA scolded the firms for alleged operational systems, supervisory and recordkeeping deficiencies.