The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Ken Balser. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Ken Balser has been the subject of multiple customer disputes.
Ken Balser was a Colorado based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for eleven years. During his career, he was registered with five different securities firms. He is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.
His Registrations
- A.G. Edwards & Sons (1999-2003)
- UBS Financial Services (2003-2006)
- Merrill Lynch (2006-2007)
- LPL Financial (2012-2013)
- Cetera Advisors (2013-2016)
The Allegations
- In 2016, Ken Balser was discharged from his position at Cetera Advisors following allegations that he took part in private securities transactions–in direct violation of the firm’s policies. Due to the following allegations, he was sanctioned by both FINRA and the Colorado Division of Securities. The latter of which alleged that he invested approximately $1.5 million from seventeen clients in a private security known as Tesoro Del Alma, Inc. During FINRA’s investigation into the matter, Ken Balser allegedly failed to comply with their request for information and was in turn barred from acting as a securities broker in any fashion.
- In October 2018, a customer alleged that Ken Balser recommended unsuitable investments, violated both the Wyoming and Colorado Securities Acts, breached contract, breached his fiduciary duty, engaged in common law fraud, and handled the account negligently. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $250,000 in damages.
- In June 2019, a customer alleged that Ken Balser violated Federal, Colorado, and South Carolina Securities Laws, violated the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, breached contract, committed common law fraud, breached his fiduciary duty, and managed their account negligently. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $140,910 in damages.
- In October 2019, a customer alleged that Ken Balser violated Federal and Colorado securities laws, breached contract, committed common law fraud, breached his fiduciary duty, and managed their account negligently. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $103,664 in damages.
What Does This Mean?
Private placements are unregistered securities that do not trade on any public securities exchanges. They are often incredibly harmful to investors due to their speculative nature, illiquidity, and extremely high cost structure. Despite this, they are recommended to unsuited investors by less than scrupulous securities brokers because of significant conflicts of interest. These conflicts are born out of the fact that brokers receive incredibly high commissions when recommending these products. These commissions drastically drain investor principals and make it almost impossible for them to see any profits under anything other than a booming market.
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 Ken Balser, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation. Oakes & Fosher handles cases on a contingency basis, which means there are no fees charged unless we collect for you.
