The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker Jeffrey Mchale. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Jeffrey Mchale has been the subject of multiple customer disputes over the course of his career.
Jeffrey Mchale is a Massachusetts based securities broker. He has worked in the securities industry for twenty-one years. During his career, he was registered with three different securities firms.
His Registrations
- Merrill Lynch (1998-2004)
- Coburn & Merideth (2004-2015)
- Ameriprise Financial Services (2015-Present)
The Allegations
- In December 2018, a customer alleged that Jeffrey Mchale over-concentrated their account in equities, specifically low market cap securities, and failed to recommend any bonds. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $180,000 in damages.
- In December 2019, customers alleged that Jeffrey Mchale recommended highly unsuitable pharmaceutical and biotech stocks. The customers alleged that their accounts were over-concentrated in these types of high risk securities and that certain transactions were falsely marked as unsolicited even though they had allegedly been recommended by Mchale. This case is currently pending. The customers are seeking $655,000 in damages.
What Does This Mean?
Securities brokers have an obligation to their customers to only recommend securities that they (the customers) are actually financially suited for. This suitability can be determined by looking at multiple factors that include the customer’s investment objectives, age, financial situation, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs. Brokers also have an obligation to adequately diversify their customers’ portfolios in a way suitable to these factors. For instance, an investor with conservative objectives should have some of their portfolio invested in equities, however, should also have a large portion invested in low-risk bonds. A failure to adequately distribute a customer’s investment portfolio in a suitable manner can cause significant losses to the investor.
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 Mchale, 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.