FINRA Awards 80+ year-old Merrill Client $880K

In a July 8, 2011, article by Dan Jamieson for InvestmentNews.com he writes that clients of a prominent Bank of America Merrill Lynch have won an $880,000 arbitration award against the firm. Phil Scott of the firm's Bellevue, Wash., office, was this year ranked No. 30 on the Barron's list of top advisers, with $1.8 billion under management. He ranks No. 1 on the list for the state of Washington.

The arbitration award, decided June 22, was recently made available by Finra.

The InvestmentNews.com article lists the clients as, Harriet Baker, her son John Baker and his wife Natalie Baker, all of New York state. It claims they were 100% invested in stocks through the financial crisis. That heavy allocation in stocks was not suitable for them. Harriett Baker was in her late 80s when she started doing business with Mr. Scott in 2005. Ms. Baker died the day the award was issued.

Jamieson goes on to say that Mr. Scott runs more than $1 billion of client money in a dividend growth strategy, called the Phil Scott Income Portfolio.

“Everyone has the same position — 100% equities. That's what our clients had,” he said.

The Bakers “sold at or near bottom” of the market drop, despite Mr. Scott's recommendation to remain invested in a portfolio that subsequently performed well. The award was about half of the $1.7 million in compensatory damages the Bakers demanded.

The InvestmentNews.com article goes on to say that aside from the arbitration award from last month, Mr. Scott has three other pending arbitrations, according to disclosures he made on his Finra BrokerCheck report. One case was filed in April of this year, and two others were filed last summer. The customers allege misrepresentations and unsuitable stock investments from 2007 through 2009, according to the report.

Securities Attorney, Lars Soreide, of Soreide Law, PLLC, has represented clients nationwide. If you or a family member feel you have become a victim of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Phil Scott, or Phil Scott Income Portfolio, call a Securities Arbitration Lawyer for a free consultation on how to potentially recover your losses.  To speak with an attorney, call 888-760-6552, or visit www.securitieslawyer.com.

Soreide Law Group, PLLC., representing investors nationwide before FINRA  the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.