The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of former securities broker Rushton Ardrey. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Rushton Ardrey has been the subject of multiple customer disputes.
Rushton Ardrey was a Massachusetts based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for twenty-four 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
- Prudential Bache Securities (1987-1988)
- Killebrew & Company (1988-1989)
- Salomon Smith Barney (1992-2001)
- Morgan Stanley (2001-2005)
- UBS Financial Services (2005-2009)
- Wells Fargo Advisors (2009-2013)
- Coastal Equities (2013)
- White, Weld & Co. Securities (2013-2014)
- Newport Coast Securities (2014-2015)
The Allegations
- In January 2013, a customer alleged that Rushton Ardrey recommended an unsuitable investment strategy involving concentrated stock positions and options trading. They also alleged that Rushton Ardrey unsuitably utilized margin trading and excessively traded their account. This case was settled for $70,000 in damages.
- In November 2015, a customer alleged that Rushton Ardrey excessively traded her account. They also alleged that that Ardrey over-concentrated her portfolio in unsuitable investments. This case was settled for $1.1 million in damages.
- In February 2016, a customer alleged that Rushton Ardrey made unsuitable investments, handled their account negligently, handled their account with gross negligence, breached his fiduciary duty, made trades in their account without authorization, and churned their account. This case went to arbitration where the customer was awarded an undisclosed amount in damages.
- In February 2016, a customer alleged that Rushton Ardrey executed unsuitable and unauthorized trades. This case was settled for $75,000 in damages.
- In September 2016, a customer alleged that Rushton Ardrey recommended unsuitable investments, breached regulatory requirements, managed their account negligently, breached his fiduciary duty, failed to disclose material information, executed unauthorized trades, and churned their account.
- In June 2018, a customer alleged that Rushton Ardrey concentrated her accounts in Puerto Rican debt and rare earth minerals companies through excessive, unauthorized trading. This case was settled for $150,000 in damages.
Unauthorized Trading
Securities brokers are prohibited from executing trades on behalf of investors without first obtaining the investor’s authorization. There is however a practice known as discretionary trading that allows a securities broker to execute trades in a client’s account without obtaining authorization for each one, but the broker must first obtain written authorization from the investor first. This written authorization is necessary as it keeps the investor involved in the process and helps protect them against potential unsuitable investments made without their knowledge.
Excessive Trading
Excessive trading, or churning, is a deceptive trading practice instituted by securities brokers like Michael Siegel. It centers around the securities broker trading a customer’s account excessively even if it has no financial benefit to the investor. The reason they do it then is because it generates additional commissions for each trade they execute. Despite its fraudulent nature, many securities brokers continue to engage in this practice.
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 Rushton Ardrey, 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.
