The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Peter Voldness. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Peter Voldness has been the subject of multiple customer disputes.
Peter Voldness was a Minnesota based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for thirty-seven years. During his career, he was registered with nine different securities firms. He is no longer working as a registered securities broker in any fashion.
His Registrations
- Alstead, Strangis and Dempsey Incorporated (1979-1982)
- Pagel Inc. (1982-1983)
- Engler and Budd Company (1983-1985)
- Summit Investment Corporation (1985-1988)
- Oberweis Securities (1988)
- Westonka Investments, Inc. (1988-1992)
- R.J. Steichen & Company (1992-1994)
- Robert W. Baird & Co. (1994-2000)
- Emergent Financial Group (2000-2017)
The Allegations
- In November 2012, a customer alleged that Peter Voldness placed them in investments that were not suitable and made false and misleading statements regarding said investments. This case was settled for $83,005 in damages.
- In May 2016, a customer alleged that Peter Voldness was culpable in their account being over-concentrated in highly unsuitable Cryoport securities. This case is currently pending. The customer is seeking $2 million in damages.
What Does This Mean?
One of the most important aspects of investing a customer suitably, is making sure their accounts are properly diversified among a variety of investments that they are financially suited for. This means not only choosing multiple different investments to avoid placing all funds in just few securities, but also making sure their account is properly diversified among investments with varying degrees of risk that matches their suitability needs.
Customers should never have their account over-concentrated in just one or two investments. This is regardless of the customer’s risk tolerance. Placing all of the customer’s funds in just one or two securities means that the customer’s financial success is entirely dependent upon the success or failure of one or two investments.
It is also imperative that brokers do not over-concentrate their customers portfolios in securities that are too high risk. This especially true for customers with a lower risk tolerance and more conservative investment objectives. Investors with these suitability factors should primarily be placed in more safer investments with maybe one or two more risky investments. That way, their account shows the stability that their objectives and risk tolerance required, while still maintaining the potential for slight growth.
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 Peter Voldness, 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.
