The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the possible misconduct of former securities broker Suhail Khan. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Suhail Khan has been the subject of a customer complaint.
Suhail Khan operated most recently as an Illinois based securities broker. He worked in the securities industry for fourteen 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
- WMA Securities (1999-2002)
- World Group Securities (2002-2006)
- U.S. Financial Investments (2008-2009)
- Vision (2009-2011)
- LPL Financial (2013-2017)
The Allegations
In May 2018, a customer alleged that Suhail Khan recommended unsuitable and speculative investments in a hedge fund, oil and gas fund partnerships, a real estate investment trust, and even in Khan’s own business. The alleged transgressions took place between 2013 to 2017. The customer also alleged that some of the investments were not registered securities. This case was settled for $185,000 in damages.
What are Alternative Investments?
The types of investments that Suhail Khan allegedly placed the above mentioned customer in are commonly described as “alternative investments.” These types of investments are privately traded securities that do not trade on public securities exchanges. Their private nature of these products unfortunately means that they are very poorly regulated. This poor regulation gives brokers the opportunity to misrepresent these private securities as sound investments; however, the truth is that they are very speculative and illiquid products that are unsuitable for most investors.
These products can be so detrimental to customers for a number of reasons. First off, the products are incredibly risky. There is no actual guarantee that an investor will actually see any returns, let alone not lose their principal investment. Second, they are highly illiquid. Since they are not traded on any public exchanges, it is near impossible to ascertain what they are actually worth at any given moment. Should an investor need to liquidate their shares, there isn’t a clear cut number that they would necessarily receive. Instead, they are offered a buy out price that can often be less to what they are told the product is worth. Third off, investors are charged outrageous fees when purchasing these products. These fees can be so high that it lowers their principal investment so significantly that it makes it almost impossible for them to turn a profit under anything besides exceptional market conditions.
Despite the rampant unsuitability, many less than scrupulous securities brokers continue to push these products onto unsuspecting investors. This is usually because of the incredibly high commissions they receive when executing the transactions. The recommending brokers usually do not believe it’s a suitable investment, but rather recommend these products due to substantial conflicts of interest created by these commissions that can be as high as ten percent of the investor’s principal investment.
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 Suhail Khan, 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.
