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Award Date: January 20, 2023
Hearing Site: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Respondent Firm: Morgan Stanley
Claimant Representative: Doc Kennedy, MBA, J.D.
Case Objective:
In 2009, a Wisconsin-based advisor with a perfect record was hit with a customer dispute disclosure alleging misrepresentation and seeking damages of about $50K. The firm denied the claim, yet it remained on the advisor’s record. Ready to restore his perfect public profile, the advisor sought the services of AdvisorLaw to bring him through FINRA Dispute Resolution, seeking expungement of the mark.
Case Summary:
In 2007, about 12 years into his financial services career, this advisor joined Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC. The following year, another advisor with the firm retired, and our advisor inherited an account belonging to a couple in their 60s.
The advisor reviewed the customers’ accounts and financial situation, and he recommended a variable annuity (VA) for the wife. The advisor met with the customer on numerous occasions to explain the VA, its rider, and all of its features and guarantees. The annuity fits the customer’s objective of principal protection with income during retirement. The customer received the VA’s written materials, including its prospectus, which also explained all of the details of the VA.
In March 2009, the customer purchased the recommended VA. Four months later, she spoke with another advisor who told her that she should not have purchased the VA, and she lodged a dispute with the firm.
Result:
At the FINRA arbitration hearing, the Arbitrator relied on the advisor’s testimony, exhibits, the customer’s complaint, and the advisor’s records. The customer did not participate in the hearing, and the firm participated but did not oppose the advisor’s request for expungement.
After reviewing all of the support and listening to the advisor’s testimony, as well as the arguments presented in support of expungement by Dochtor Kennedy, J.D., MBA, the Arbitrator recommended expungement. He explained his reasoning simply, by stating that “The Arbitrator heard testimony and reviewed documents and concluded that the complaint was erroneous in that the product provided to the Customer was appropriate and actually turned a profit for the Customer. The Arbitrator finds that the allegation against [the advisor] was without merit and false. [The advisor] sold a suitable and well-placed security to the Customer.”
With the sole disclosure on his record soon to be removed, this advisor will soon join the ranks of the numerous advisors who have restored their perfect, public records, thanks to AdvisorLaw.
If you’d like to learn more about AdvisorLaw’s FINRA Disclosure Expungement services, please fill out the contact form below. Our consultations are complimentary, and our services were created exclusively for financial advisors.