Popular Securities Sued Over Unsuitable Puerto Rican Bond Sales

Alberto Castaner (CRD #: 1603341, Fort Lauderdale, Florida) has been a registered representative of Popular Securities, LLC from December 8, 2007 to June 27, 2004. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) BrokerCheck discloses that a Popular Securities customer filed a complaint concerning Castaner’s conduct on June 21, 2018.

Popular Securities Accused Of Poor Recommendations

The customer alleged in the arbitration that investment recommendations were not suitable for the customer regarding the purchase of Puerto Rican securities, including closed-end funds and government debt investments. Apparently, those securities were not appropriate given the customer’s risk tolerance. According to the customer, the sales practice violations were especially bad considering the deteriorating financial condition of Puerto Rico. The customer requested $1,075,000.00 in damages to remedy the issue. (FINRA Arbitration Case #18-02317). The matter is pending a resolution.
FINRA BrokerCheck disclosed that five other customers of Castaner have filed disputes alleging sales practice violations including misrepresentation and unsuitable recommendations. Those customers apparently maintained accounts at Popular Securities.
1) On November 29, 2011, a customer brought a complaint alleging that the Popular Securities representative made poor investment recommendations to the customer. The customer stated that the bad recommendations led the customer to incur a margin related debt. The customers settled the allegations of unsuitable recommendations for $37,000.00 in damages.
2) A Popular Securities customer filed an arbitration on September 29, 2014, alleging that misleading and false representations had been made by the financial consultant. Customers contended that the consultant failed to properly explain the risks of preferred and common stocks and Puerto Rican bonds. The customer agreed to be paid $150,000.00 in damages to settle the allegations of misrepresentation. (FINRA Arbitration Case #14-02946).
3) On January 17, 2017, another customer of Popular Securities alleged that the investment recommendations made by the financial consultant lacked supervision. The customer contended that government-debt investments were not appropriate for the customer. A total of $348,348.00 in damages has been requested by the customer for the alleged unsuitable investments. (FINRA Arbitration Case #17-00055). The case is still ongoing.
4) On September 1, 2017, an arbitration was filed by a Popular Securities customer regarding the suitability of recommendations. The customer alleged that the customer’s investment account had been over-concentrated in Puerto Rican closed end funds and government development bonds. The customer claimed that this led the customer to have an inappropriate amount of assets exposed to market risk. (FINRA Arbitration Case #17-02372). The customer has demanded $850,000.00 in damages to resolve the dispute.
Castaner is now a securities representative of Morgan Stanley in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Have you experienced losses from Alberto Castaner or other registered representatives based on being inappropriately placed in Puerto Rican bonds? If so, contact Soreide Law Group at (888) 760-6552 and speak with an experienced attorney about the possibility of recovering your investment losses. Soreide Law Group represents clients nationwide and only charges a fee upon recovery of investment losses.