Brokerage Firm Alert: Our Investment Fraud Attorneys Are Investigating American Portfolios Financial Services Inc.
Did You Lose Money Because of American Portfolios Financial? Are You Aware of Complaints and Fines Against American Portfolios Financial?
Updated on: December 27, 2023
American Portfolios Financial Services Inc. (“American Portfolios Financial”) (CRD # 18487) is a broker-dealer and has been the subject of at least six (6) complaints filed by regulatory organizations like FINRA and many more by investors like yourself. At Patil Law, we have investigated American Portfolios Financial, its regulatory complaints and fines, and its customer complaints. If you’ve invested your hard-earned money with American Portfolios Financial, you should be very concerned about any regulatory actions, regulatory fines, or customer complaints against your brokerage firm.
Our team of attorneys specializes in representing investors with claims of fraud, negligence, and breach of fiduciary duty against this organization and its financial advisors. As an investor, you may be entitled to compensation for losses accrued due to mismanagement of your investments.
If you believe you have a claim against American Portfolios Financial, you should strongly consider hiring an investment fraud lawyer and not wait until it’s too late to file a claim. Reach out to our legal team via the secure and private online form or call our firm directly toll-free at 1-800-950-6553 for a free consultation so that we can discuss your case and see what we can do to help you get the compensation you need and deserve. We do not charge anything for the ability to discuss your matter and evaluate your potential case.
Jump to Topic
Do I Have an Investment Fraud Case Against American Portfolios Financial?
Who is American Portfolios Financial?
How To File a Claim Against American Portfolios Financial To Get Your Money Back
Client Complaints – Is Your Financial Advisor on This List?
Did Misconduct By an American Portfolios Financial Advisor Impact Your Investments? What Can You Do?
American Portfolios Financial Has Many Regulatory Complaints and Fines
A Closer Look Into American Portfolios Financial’s Regulatory Issues
Next Steps and Free Consultation with Our Legal Team
Do I Have an Investment Fraud Case Against American Portfolios Financial?
✅ YES, if you’ve experienced financial losses due to the actions or misconduct of American Portfolios Financial or its staff, you have the right to pursue legal action against them. You can sue American Portfolios Financial but the odds are you signed away your right to sue in court and agreed to resolve your dispute in a FINRA arbitration proceeding.
FINRA arbitration proceedings are generally private proceedings that can last anywhere from a few months to approximately a year. Our attorneys have personal experience in representing clients in FINRA arbitration proceedings and know very well how you can not only sue American Portfolios Financial in FINRA arbitration proceedings, but WIN that arbitration. The easiest way to know if you have a case against American Portfolios Financial is to reach out to our legal team at Patil Law via the secure and private online form or call us toll-free at 1-800-950-6553 for a complimentary consultation.
Who is American Portfolios Financial?
American Portfolios Financial (CRD # 18487) is a registered broker-dealer. It operates as a full-service independent broker-dealer, providing a range of financial products and services to individual investors and financial advisors. As a registered broker-dealer, American Portfolios Financial is subject to regulations and oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
It is required to comply with industry standards and regulations to ensure the protection of its clients’ interests. A failure to comply with industry standards by either its brokers or the firm itself can result in disciplinary actions, fines, or other penalties imposed by regulatory authorities.
How To File A Claim Against American Portfolios Financial To Get Your Money Back
If you have questions about American Portfolios Financial, its advisors, or the management or performance of your accounts, please contact our legal team at Patil Law via the secure and private online form or call us toll-free at 1-800-950-6553 for a free and complimentary initial consultation. Our attorneys have experience handling well over a thousand securities arbitration claims, and our law firm has successfully recovered over $25 million for our clients to date.
We understand the stress that comes along with realizing that your financial advisor or brokerage firm has made poor decisions with your money. We can help you, as we have helped hundreds of other clients in the past.
Client Complaints – Is Your Financial Advisor on This List?
There have been scores of customer complaints filed against American Portfolios Financial stockbrokers and investment advisors over the years. Many of these complaints deal with financial advisor misconduct, poor or unsuitable investment recommendations, failure by these brokerage firms to supervise their employees (the financial advisors), and general fraud against consumers. We have launched many investigations of current and former American Portfolios Financial advisors:
- Charles Phillips Darrow currently unaffiliated (previously with American Portfolios Financial and LPL Financial)
- Hillary Wertlieb with American Portfolios Financial (previously with Cetera Advisors and Investors Capital Corp.)
- Peter Knittle with American Portfolios Financial (previously with American Portfolios Advisors and LPL Financial)
- Joffre Salazar currently unaffiliated (previously with American Portfolios Financial and LPL Financial)
Did Misconduct By an American Portfolios Financial Advisor Impact Your Investments?
If you have lost money investing with any of these American Portfolios Financial advisors or others within this brokerage firm, it’s important that you reach out to an investment loss attorney quickly because the statutes of limitations can bar your claims. Call our legal team at Patil Law toll-free at 1-800-950-6553 or reach out to us via the secure and private online form for a free initial consultation.
American Portfolios Financial Has Many Regulatory Complaints and Fines
There have been approximately six (6) state and self-regulatory body disclosure events against American Portfolios Financial; that is, final and formal proceedings initiated by a regulatory authority like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or self-regulatory body like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for a violation(s) of investment-related rules or regulations. In addition, there have been countless customer complaints filed against American Portfolios Financial for misconduct by its securities sales and investment advisory representatives that are not reported by the firm on its Central Depository Record.
Our legal team at Patil Law has reported and written about these regulatory problems and customer complaints over many years. A few of the notable FINRA Sanctions for its Supervisory Failures are below.
A Closer Look Into American Portfolios Financial’s Regulatory Issues
American Portfolios Financial has been repeatedly censured, warned, and fined for its own misconduct and failure to supervise its army of financial advisors. Details of six (6) regulatory issues are listed below:
Fined $225,000 for Alleged Supervisory Failures In Monitoring Customer Funds Transmittals To Third Parties (AWC No: 2018060968102)
Overview from FINRA’s Disciplinary Office:
Between September 2011 and June 2018, American Portfolios’ supervisory system and written supervisory procedures (WSPs) were not reasonably designed to achieve compliance with the firm’s obligation to monitor transmittals of customer funds to third parties and the firm failed to enforce its existing WSPs relating to such transmittals of customer funds. As a result, a sales assistant associated with American Portfolios converted approximately $390,000 of customer funds. By virtue of the foregoing, American Portfolios violated NASD Rules 3010 and 30122 and FINRA Rules 3110 and 2010.
Fined $50,000 for Alleged Supervisory Failures Allowing Representatives to Engage in Unsuitable Mutual Fund Switching (AWC No: 2013035369502)
Overview from FINRA’s Disciplinary Office:
From May 2011 through May 2013 (the”Relevant Period”), American Portfolios, through two of its registered representatives, violated NASD Conduct Rule 2310, IM-2310-2, and FINRARules 2111 and 2010 by engaging in unsuitable mutual fund switching. Further, American Portfolios additionally violated NASD Conduct Rule 3010 and FINRA 2010 by failing to establish and enforce a supervisory system, including written supervisory procedures (“WSPs”), reasonably designed to detect and prevent unsuitable mutual fund switching.
Fined $25,000 for Alleged Supervisory Failures In Delivering Appropriate Disclosure Documents On Time (AWC No: 2012033328301)
Overview from FINRA’s Disciplinary Office:
During the period October 2008 through April 2009 (the “Relevant Period”), American Portfolios had inadequate supervisory systems and procedures to ensure that it timely delivered the appropriate disclosure documents to customers purchasing unit investment trusts (“UITs”) and/or exchange traded funds (“ETFs”). As a result, American Portfolios failed to timely provide certain of its customers with a prospectus or written description for these transactions.
Fined $650,000 for Alleged Supervisory Failures In Overseeing Representatives And Preventing Violations (Docket/Case Number: 3-20151)
Overview from FINRA’s Disciplinary Office:
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) deems it appropriate and in the public interest that public administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted pursuant to Section 15(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”), and Sections 203(E) and 203(K) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”), against American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. (“APFS”) and American Portfolios Advisors, Inc. (“APA”) (Collectively, the “respondents”). The Commission finds that this matter concerns APFS’s failure reasonably to supervise certain APFS registered representatives who recommended their brokerage customers buy and hold a complex exchange traded product (“ETP”) without a reasonable basis for believing the recommendation was suitable for their customers. Those customers lost significant portions of their investment. The registered representatives did not understand the product, misrepresented its risks and recommended it for a purpose inconsistent with that described in the product’s offering materials. APFS failed reasonably to implement its supervisory policies and procedures to address whether the registered representatives understood the product sufficiently to be able to form a reasonable basis to recommend that retail brokerage customers buy and hold the ETP. In addition, APA failed to adopt and implement policies and procedures regarding the suitability of complex ETPs for advisory clients. Throughout the relevant period, APFS had policies and procedures concerning suitability of recommendations and complex products, including ETPs like IPATH S&P 500 VIX short-term futures ETN (“VXX”). The policies and procedures direct that registered representatives understand the potential risks and rewards of a recommendation, as well as have a reasonable basis for believing a recommended transaction is suitable for a customer. The policies and procedures also make clear that APFS was expected to subject complex products to a new product review process and was expected to provide registered representatives and supervisors training regarding such products, including the relevant suitability standards. However, as of January 2016, and throughout the relevant period, APFS did not subject VXX to a review process, nor did it identify VXX as complex such that registered representatives and supervisors could properly assess suitability and other issues. Moreover, and significantly, APFS provided no training regarding VXX.
As a result of the conduct described above, pursuant to Exchange Act Section 15(B)(4)(E), APFS failed reasonably to supervise certain APFS registered representatives with a view to preventing and detecting their violations of Sections 17(A)(2) and 17(A)(3) of the Securities Act. If APFS had reasonably implemented its policies and procedures with respect to complex ETPs, APFS could have prevented and detected the brokerage representatives’ violations.
Fined $5,000 for Alleged Supervisory Failures In Transmitting Reportable Order Events To Order Audit Trail System (Docket/Case Number: 2008015727001)
Overview from FINRA’s Disciplinary Office:
NASD Rule 6955(A) – American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. failed to transmit Reportable Order Events (ROES) to the Order Audit Trail System (OATS).
Fined $7,500 for Alleged Supervisory Failures In Timely Reporting Transactions To The MSRB (Docket/Case Number: ELI2005001701)
Overview from FINRA’s Disciplinary Office:
NASD Rules 2110, 3010 and MSRB Rules G-14 and G-27: Respondent member firm filed to timely report of its municipal securities customer transactions to the MSRB; it failed to adopt, maintain, and enforce written supervisory procedures reasonably designed to ensure compliance with the municipal transaction reporting requirements of MSRB Rules. The firm’s written supervisory procedures failed to include the identity of the person responsible for the supervisory area, how often the review was to occur, and how the review was to be documented.
Next Steps and Free Consultation with Our Legal Team
If you have questions about American Portfolios Financial, its advisors, or the management or performance of your accounts, please contact our team at Patil Law toll-free at 1-800-950-6553 for a free initial consultation. Or please reach out to us through our secure and private contact form and we will call you back quickly to discuss your case.
Our attorneys have experience handling well over a thousand securities arbitration claims, and our law firm has successfully recovered over $25 million for our clients to date. We understand the stress that comes along with realizing that your financial advisor or brokerage firm has made poor decisions with your money.
We can help you, as we have helped hundreds of other clients in the past. We are happy to serve you as well as to provide you with a custom report of your advisor’s and your brokerage firm’s complaints.