The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker David Bolton. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, David Bolton has been the subject of a FINRA sanction.
David Bolton was a Kentucky based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for eight years. During his career, he was registered with seven different securities firms. He is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.
His Registrations
- Morgan Stanley (2006)
- Raymond James (2006)
- Merrill Lynch (2006)
- National Planning Corporation (2006-2007)
- Edward Jones (2008-2012)
- Signator Investors (2012-2014)
- Thurston, Springer, Miller, Herd & Titak (2014-2016)
The Allegations
David Bolton was officially sanctioned by FINRA in April 2018. The findings in this matter state that he took part in a pattern of short-term mutual fund trading in the accounts of two of his customers. He, in total, executed over sixty unsuitable short-term trades of Class A mutual funds in these customers’ accounts. FINRA determined that Bolton had no reasonable basis to believe that these trades were suitable due to the nature and frequency of the transactions. The customers incurred approximately $25,000 in unnecessary sales charges alone. Bolton also allegedly marked these trades as “unsolicited” in his member firm’s records. Due to these allegations, he was barred by FINRA from acting as a securities broker in any fashion.
What Does This Mean?
Different types of securities are designed to be held onto for different periods of time. For instance, there is a security known as a leveraged ETF that is designed to be bought and then resold within a single trading day. However, securities like Class A mutual funds are designed to be purchased and held onto for a longer period of time. It takes a while longer for these securities to mature, and recommending to customers that they sell them before its holding period is up can prevent investors from seeing a return on their investment. Products like this are also accompanied by very aggressive sales charges. When brokers engage in unsuitable short term trading for products like this, it can cause these hefty sales charges to add up and cause the investor’s principal to significantly deteriorate.
Oakes & Fosher Can Help
Many investors are unaware of the legal recourse available to them after losing money due to securities broker fraud and/or negligence. The truth is that investors who have lost money in this fashion may actually be entitled to damages.
Oakes & Fosher dedicates its entire legal practice to helping investors across the nation. If you, or someone you know, have lost money investing with David Bolton, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation.
