Thomas Niles Allegedly Engages In An Unsuitable Pattern Of Short-Term UIT Trading

The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker Thomas Niles. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Thomas Niles has been the subject of a FINRA sanction.

Thomas Niles is a New York-based securities broker. He has worked in the securities industry for twenty-six years. During his career, he has been registered with six different securities firms.

His Registrations

• Merrill Lynch (1992-1995)


• Salomon Smith Barney (1995-2000)


• Prudential Securities Incorporated (2000-2003)


• Wachovia Securities (2003-2009)


• Morgan Stanley & Co. (2009-2015)


• Janney Montgomery (2015-Present)

The Allegations

Thomas Niles was officially sanctioned by FINRA in February 2018. The findings in this matter state that he allegedly took part in an unsuitable pattern of short-term trading of Unit Investment Trusts (UITs) in customer accounts. He allegedly repeatedly recommended to the customers that they purchase UITs and then sell these products before their maturity dates. UITs are securities that encompass a wide variety of stocks and bonds sold as single units. They are very similar to mutual funds; however, mutual funds can be sold at their net asset value whenever the customer wants to sell them. UITs are designed to be held onto for longer periods of time as they have a maturity date. Selling these products before said maturity date prevents investors from seeing deserved returns and even racks up highly unnecessary sales charges and commissions for the broker. Due to these allegations, Thomas Niles was fined $5,000 and suspended for a period of three months.

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 Thomas Niles, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation.