William Sandeman (CRD 831384) consented to FINRA findings that he willfully violated Regulation Best Interest by recommending that 81 retail customers purchase and hold volatility-linked and non-traditional exchange-traded products as long-term investments, according to his BrokerCheck report. FINRA filed the case, numbered 2022073920901, on October 5, 2026, while Sandeman was registered with Wedbush Securities.
Sandeman has also settled earlier customer disputes at Wedbush and at UBS Financial Services dating back to 2006.
FINRA found that William Sandeman willfully violated Rule 15I-1(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Reg BI rule, by recommending that 81 retail customers purchase and hold volatility-linked and non-traditional exchange-traded products as long-term investments. According to the findings, Sandeman recommended the products without a reasonable understanding of their risks and without a reasonable basis to believe the recommendations were in his retail customers' best interest.
Without admitting or denying the findings, Sandeman consented to the sanction and to the entry of the findings.
Regulation Best Interest requires brokers to act in a retail customer's best interest when recommending a security or investment strategy, instead of placing their own interests ahead of the customer's. The rule applies to recommendations involving complex products, for example volatility-linked and leveraged exchange-traded products.
A customer at Wedbush Securities filed a dispute against William Sandeman on October 1, 2024, over losses in ETF and ETN holdings. The dispute then settled on November 25, 2024, with $350,000 in alleged damages against a $30,000 settlement.
An earlier dispute, filed January 17, 2014 under docket number 134-00075, alleged that Sandeman made risky investment recommendations of individual securities in a single sector, resulting in an overconcentration in that sector. The dispute later settled September 4, 2014 for $50,000 against $161,054 in alleged damages. Sandeman denied the allegations and said he was strongly urged by firm policy to contribute to the settlement, which he said was not an admission of wrongdoing.
The oldest dispute, filed August 28, 2006 at UBS Financial Services, alleged that Sandeman failed to follow instructions and guidelines agreed upon for a client's trust account. That dispute then settled December 19, 2006 for $9,500 against $25,000 in alleged damages.
Regulation Best Interest is an SEC rule that took effect in June 2020. It requires a broker dealer to act in a retail customer's best interest when making a recommendation. In addition, the firm and its representative cannot put their own interests ahead of the customer's.
FINRA member firms must supervise the activities of their brokers. If you have questions about an account that William Sandeman handled, call Soreide Law Group at (888) 760-6552. You can also reach us online to speak with a securities attorney. Our securities lawyers handle FINRA arbitration claims on a contingency fee basis. Learn how FINRA arbitration works.
This post summarizes public FINRA records, including BrokerCheck, as of October 10, 2026. Allegations in customer complaints and arbitrations are claims, not findings. A settlement is also not an admission of wrongdoing. FINRA may also update or correct these records after that date.
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Cowen and Company, LLC (CRD 7616), now part of TD Securities (USA) LLC, is a brokerage firm based in New York, New York. FINRA censured and fined the firm a total of $80,000, of which $40,000 is payable to FINRA, according to an AWC issued August 19, 2026.
Webull Financial LLC (CRD 289063) is a brokerage firm based in New York, New York. FINRA censured and fined the firm $115,000 after finding it maintained inaccurate books and records of options order origin codes, according to an AWC issued August 17, 2026.
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