The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Hernany Martinez. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Hernany Martinez has been the subject of multiple customer disputes.
Hernany Martinez was a Texas based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for eleven years. During his career, he was registered with just two different securities firms. He is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.
His Registrations
- Merrill Lynch (2006)
- Actinver Securities (2006-2017)
The Allegations
- In October 2007, a customer alleged that Hernany Martinez arbitrarily re-invested the proceeds of the matured structured product into another structured product without authorization to do so.
- In September 2016, a customer alleged that Hernany Martinez mismanaged their account that resulted in losses of $180,000. This case was settled for $135,000 in damages.
- In September 2017, Hernany Martinez was discharged from his position at Actinver Securities following allegations that he exercised discretion over non-discretionary accounts.
What is Discretion?
Securities brokers are required to obtain their customers’ authorization whenever they plan to execute a transaction on their behalf. While investors hire securities brokers to manage their accounts, they have not forfeited their right to have final say regarding what they are invested in. There is a trading practice known as discretion that allows securities brokers to execute trades in a customer’s account without needing to have every trade authorized. However, before a broker can begin engaging in this practice, they must first receive express written authorization from the account holder. They must also have their member firm accept the account in question as suitable for discretionary trading. Investors need to be weary of this practice due to the excess of power it gives to securities brokers. Brokers who have been given this power have the ability to place their customers in investments they are not financially suited for and the ability to trade their customers’ accounts excessively. Both of these acts can cause serious financial harm to customers.
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 Hernany Martinez, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation. We work on a contingency basis, which means there are no fees charged unless we collect for you.
