The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker William Paynter. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, William Paynter has been the subject of multiple customer complaints over the course of his career.
William Paynter is an Arizona based securities broker. He has worked in the securities industry for twenty-two years. During his career, he has been registered with nine different securities firms.
His Registrations
- Joseph Charles & Associates (1997)
- Prudential Securities Incorporated (1997-1999)
- U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray (1999-2002)
- First Financial Equity Corporation (2002-2007)
- Wells Fargo Investments (2007-2011)
- Wells Fargo Advisors (2011)
- Morgan Stanley (2011-2014)
- UBS Financial Services (2014-2017)
- Wells Fargo Clearing Services (2017-Present)
The Allegations
- In May 2017, an elderly couple alleged that William Paynter recommended unsuitable investments, over-concentrated their account in the oil and energy sector, managed their account negligently, breached his fiduciary duty, and breached contract. This case was settled for $130,000 in damages.
- In June 2017, customers alleged that William Paynter recommended unsuitable investments. This case was settled for $35,000 in damages.
What Does This Mean?
Securities brokers have a obligation to their customers to always act in their best financial interests. The main part of this is recommending investments to customers that they would actually be financially suited for. Brokers are expected to be able to determine if an investment would be suitable for their customer and cannot excuse themselves by claiming they were ignorant of suitability. FINRA has a suitability rule in place to protect investors from brokers attempting to defend themselves in this manner. Brokers who cannot determine suitability lack the ability to do their job to the necessary standard. Brokers receive all the information they need to determine suitability directly from their customers. This information would be that of investment objectives, age, financial situation, liquidity needs, and risk tolerance.
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 William Paynter, 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.
