The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Jeffrey Kinder. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Jeffrey Kinder has been the subject of a FINRA sanction.
Jeffrey Kinder was a Missouri based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for thirty-one years. During his career, he was registered with three different securities firms. He is not currently working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.
His Registrations
- R. Rowland & Co. (1986-1988)
- Stifel, Nicolaus & Company (1988-1994)
- Huntleigh Securities Corporation (1994-2017)
The Allegations
Jeffrey Kinder was officially sanctioned by FINRA in January 2018. The findings in this matter state that he unsuitably recommended to five member firm customers, three of which were senior citizens, that they engage in short-term trading of unit investment trusts, or UITs. Kinder allegedly continuously recommended to these customers that they purchase UITs and sell them well before their maturity dates. These alleged recommendations caused the customers to incur almost $100,000 in excessive sales charges. Due to these alleged actions, he was fined $20,000 and suspended from acting as a securities broker in any fashion for a period of fifteen months.
What Does This Mean?
Unit investment trusts are securities that encompass a wide variety of investments sold as individual units. They are relatively similar to mutual funds in that regard. However, unlike mutual funds, UITs need to mature before investors can hope to see any kind of returns on them. Because of this, these securities are specifically designed to be held onto for longer periods of time. It is highly unsuitable for brokers to recommend that customers sell these products before their maturity dates. Not only because doing so prevents them from seeing desired returns, but it also causes considerable sales charges to add up. Investors incur hefty sales charges every time a UIT transaction is executed. The reason some brokers recommend excessive unit investment trust trading is because most of these charges are paid to them as their commissions for brokering the trades.
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 Jeffrey Kinder, 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.