William Baum formerly of Great American & Newbridge

Soreide Law Group has filed a FINRA arbitration on behalf of our clients (Claimants) against:

GREAT AMERICAN INVESTORS, INC., &

NEWBRIDGE SECURITES CORPORATION (Respondents)

The Claimants are a married couple in their 70s residing in Kansas. The Claimants met GREAT AMERICAN broker, William Baum many years ago through a relative. Baum managed their money at GREAT AMERICAN and later at NEWBRIDGE. In 2018, one of the Claimants retired and rolled over roughly a $900k retirement account to GREAT AMERICAN. The lawsuit alleges between 2018 and 2022, the Claimants lost the bulk of their retirement savings in high risk, high velocity, speculative trading with the majority of the losses in low priced securities.

The lawsuit states that the Claimants are not financially savvy investors and were not able to follow their financial statements.  Allegedly, the Claimants were not aware of the damage that was being done and agreed to follow William Baum from GREAT AMERICAN to NEWBRIDGE where he continued his management of their portfolios.

The lawsuit alleges the Respondents’ actions have caused the Claimant damages of approximately $600,000.00.  The lawsuit is claiming breach of fiduciary duty, negligent supervision, and negligence. William Baum is not named in this lawsuit.

According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, available to the public on FINRA’s website, WILLIAM BRYSON BAUM (William Baum), has been in the securities industry for 35 years and was listed with 7 firms.  Baum is not listed currently with any firm.  He was listed with GREAT AMERICAN INVESTORS, INC of Overland Park, Kansas from 12/03/2001 - 05/10/2021.  Baum was listed with NEWBRIDGE SECURITES CORPORATION of Boca Raton, Florida from 05/07/2021 - 06/22/2022.

There are 9 Disclosures on William Baum’s FINRA CRD report, 8 are Customer Disputes dating from 1998-2019, and 1 is a “Regulatory” disclosure.  Of the 8 customer disputes, 7 have settled and 1 was denied. The following are some of the allegations listed on Baum’s CRD report in the settled disputes, “recommended unsuitable trading strategies, misrepresentation of investment risks resulting in losses, failed to recommend appropriate investments, disclose all conflicts of interest and fully inform claimants about the associated risks, and failed to act in their best interest.”

If you have experienced similar issues with your broker/dealer, contact Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer at no cost at 888-760-6552.

Soreide Law Group represents clients nationwide before FINRA on a contingency fee basis, no fee to you if no recovery.