On February 24th., 2014, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, also known as FINRA announced that it fined Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc. and its affiliate, Securities Management & Research, Inc., of Marion, Iowa. The fine totaled $775,000 for supervisory deficiencies. This fine included Berthel Fisher's failure to supervise the non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), and leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs) sales.
According to FINRA's investigation, from January 2008 to December 2012, Berthel Fisher had inadequate supervisory systems and written procedures, did not eforce suitability standards, failed to calculate accurately the concentration levels for alternate investments, and failure to train staff on suitability standards for their clients. These were for the sales of alternative investments; such as REITs, managed futures, gas and oil programs, equipment leasing and business developments.
Also, FINRA found from April 2009 to April 2012, Berthel Fisher & Co. did properly research or review non-traditional ETFs before its brokers recommended them to clients and that they failed to provide training to the sales staff for these products. According to FINRA, Berthel Fisher also failed to monitor the holding periods by clients, resulting in some losses for their clients.
If you sustained an investment loss due to your stock broker/financial advisor’s recommendations regarding REITs or ETFs, call for a free consultation with an attorney on how to potentially recover your losses, call Soreide Law Group at 888-760-6552.
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