The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the possible misconduct of former securities broker Philip Sheridan. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Philip Sheridan has been the subject of an employment termination.
Philip Sheridan was a Massachusetts based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for twenty-three years. He spent his entire career registered with Ameriprise Financial Services.
The Allegations
Philip Sheridan was discharged from his position at Ameriprise Financial in July 2019. This followed allegations that he exercised discretion in non-discretionary accounts.
What is Discretion?
Securities brokers, like Philip Sheridan, are obligated to obtain their customer’s authorization before executing trades on their behalf. This is because investors are entitled to the opportunity to decide for themselves if they want to be invested in a particular security. There is a trading practice known as discretion where a securities broker can execute trades in a customer’s account without having to obtain their authorization before executing every trade. However, before exercising discretion, a broker must first receive express written permission from the customer and have their member firm accept the account in question as suitable for discretionary trading. Discretion can be a very slippery slope as it gives brokers the opportunity to execute unsuitable trades and trade their customer’s accounts excessively–both of which can cause investors to incur significant losses.
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 Philip Sheridan, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation.
