Our law firm represents securities investors that have disputes with their investment advisors or brokerage firms, such as Cetera Financial Group (Cetera Financial). Investment related misconduct that our firm has successfully represented clients concerning includes securities fraud, suitability, private placements, and unauthorized trading. Our firm can analyze your advisory accounts and determine if and what type of misconduct occurred.
In January 2014, RCS Capital Corp. agreed to buy independent broker-dealer Cetera Financial Group for $1.15 billion causing the company to become one of the largest independent broker-dealer networks in the nation. RCS Capital went public last year when it announced three independent broker-dealer acquisitions: First Allied Securities Inc., Investors Capital Holdings, and Summit Financial Services.
Including Cetera Financial, RCS Capital will have nearly 9,000 advisers in its network, second only to LPL Financial, the country's largest independent broker-dealer network with approximately 13,500 advisers.
Cetera Financial was formed in 2010 through Lightyear Capital’s acquisition of three ING broker-dealers and merged them into one company. The merged company will oversee about $191 billion in assets under management.
Cetera Financial Group is affiliated with, under common control, or otherwise performs business under the company names Cetera Financial Brokerage Services, Genworth Financial Brokerage Services, Terra Securities Corporation, Financial Network Investment Center, First Asset Management Corporation, Cetera Advisors LLC, Multi-Financial Securities Corp, Cetera Financial Specialists LLC, Cetera Investment Management LLC, PrimeVest Financial Services, Inc., Entrust Financial Group, Inc.
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Cetera – In the News:
FINRA v. Multi-Financial Securities Corp., AWC No. 200501166601 – FINRA fined Multi-Financial $150,000 concerning allegations over the firm’s breakpoint mutual fund sales practices. Some mutual fund companies sell shares that charge front-end loads but offer discounts at certain pre-determined levels of investments, called breakpoints. In March 2003, FINRA required certain member firms that sold front-end load mutual funds to conduct a self-assessment of breakpoint compliance and provided instructions on how to complete the Self-Assessment and report the results. FINRA found that Multi-Financial did not accurately complete its Self-Assessment by underreporting the number of transactions with missed breakpoints. FINRA alleged that the firm failed to complete these reviews accurately.
FINRA v. Multi-Financial Securities Corp., AWC No. 2006004754301 – FINRA alleged that broker JW, associated with Multi-Financial, raised approximately $1,154,000 from approximately 14 investors through the sale of promissory notes. FINRA alleged that these transactions were private securities transactions and JW did not provide the firm with written notice of the sales. FINRA found that Multi-Financial’s supervisory systems and procedures were not reasonably designed to detect and investigate JW's private securities transactions. Specifically, FINRA alleged that an October 2004 audit included a review of JW's business checking account where the firm learned that JW was receiving and relaying funds to persons for unexplained reasons. However, FINRA alleged that due to deficiencies in the firm's supervisory systems and procedures the firm did not follow up on unanswered questions concerning the business checking account used by JW. As a result, FINRA found that the firm failed to detect JW's ongoing private securities transactions.
Our attorneys has successfully represented hundreds of investors in their broker disputes with their advisor firms. Our consultations are free and we welcome all inquiries.