The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker Ethan De Naray. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Ethan De Naray has been the subject of a customer dispute and a FINRA sanction.
Ethan De Naray is a Minnesota based securities broker. He has worked in the securities industry for fifteen years. During his career, he has been registered with three different securities firms.
His Registrations
- Citigroup Global Markets (2002-2008)
- Merrill Lynch (2008-2017)
- Feltl & Company (2017-Present)
The Allegations
In February 2017, a customer alleged that Ethan De Naray engaged in unauthorized discretionary trading. This case was settled for $92,000 in damages. Ethan De Naray was officially sanctioned by FINRA in August 2018 due to these allegations. He was fined $5,000 and suspended from the securities industry for a period of one month. He had been terminated from his position Merrill Lynch one year prior due to the allegations.
Discretion
Securities brokers are not allowed to execute trades on their customer’s behalf without first obtaining their authorization to do so. Just because an investor has hired a securities broker to handle their money does not mean they have forfeited their right to have the final say of what they are invested in. However, there is a trading practice known as discretion that allows securities brokers like Ethan De Nary to execute trades in a customer’s account without having to obtain authorization for every trade. However, before a broker can begin engaging in this practice, they must first receive express written authorization from the account holder, and have their member firm deem the account in question as suitable for discretionary trading.
Discretion can be a very slippery slope as it gives an excess of power to the broker. Brokers who engage in discretionary trading can place their customers in investments they are not financially suited for, or can trade their accounts excessively–both of which can be incredibly harmful to investors. This is the reason why written authorization is required. Just because an investor gives verbal or implied authorization does not mean they fully understand what discretionary trading actually is or what they are agreeing to.
Oakes & Fosher Can Help
Many investors are unaware of the legal recourse available to them after losing money due to securities broker negligence and/or fraud. 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 Ethan De Naray, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation.
