Publicly available records provided by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) indicate that broker-dealer, FFEC Wealth Partners LLC (CRD # 16507) was recently sanctioned by FINRA’s Department of Enforcement after an investigation of failure to supervise relating to its supervisory system for margin and mutual funds.
The Law Office of Kevin J. Deloatch, Esq. is interested in speaking to investors who have complaints regarding FFEC Wealth Partners LLC.
Registration Background for FFEC Wealth Partners LLC
FFEC Wealth Partners LLC has been a member firm of FINRA since 1985. It is headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ. It conducts a general securities business. During the relevant period of the investigation, it had 25 branch offices with approximately 165 registered representatives.
FINRA’s Allegations Against FFEC Wealth Partners LLC
According to FINRA Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) dated November 25, 2022 (No. 2019061612602), FFEC Wealth Partners LLC consented to, without either admitting to or denying, the following findings by FINRA’s Department of Enforcement:
- “During the period June 2017 through September 2019, FFEC failed to establish, maintain, and enforce a supervisory system, including written supervisory procedures (WSPs), reasonably designed to achieve compliance with the suitability requirements of FINRA Rule 2111 as they pertain to margin use”;
- “In addition, FFEC and [Jeffrey Scott] Graves failed to reasonably supervise the use of margin in two customer accounts and failed to reasonably supervise mutual fund switches in two customer accounts”;
- “These failures caused the customers to pay more than $112,000 in commissions, fees, and margin interest”;
- By virtue of its actions, FFEC Wealth Partners LLC violated FINRA Rule 3110 regarding supervision and FINRA Rule 2010, regarding standards of commercial honor and principles of trade.
FINRA Sanctions FFEC Wealth Partners LLC
As a result of such violations and in addition to the above-described findings and conclusions, FINRA’s November 25, 2022 AWC also indicates that FFEC Wealth Partners LLC consented to the following sanction(s):
- A censure;
- A fine in the amount of $35,000.00; and
- Restitution of $112,672.87 plus interest
FFEC Wealth Partners LLC Has A History of Securities Industry Regulatory Sanctions
In addition to FFEC Wealth Partners LLC being sanctioned by FINRA after an investigation of its failure to supervise relating to margin and mutual funds, FINRA BrokerCheck for FFEC Wealth Partners LLC reveals it has a prior history of regulatory sanctions, including but not necessarily limited to the following:
- On December 19, 2019, FFEC Wealth Partners LLC entered into FINRA Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent (No. 2017055723502), in which it consented to without admitting or denying findings that it failed to file amended U4’s for 20 of its registered representatives and failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system or WSPs reasonably designed to supervise the amendments of U4’s. The company was ultimately censured and fined $200,000.00.
- On November 17, 2016, FFEC Wealth Partners LLC entered into FINRA Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent (No. 2012033942501), in which it consented to, without admitting or denying, findings that it failed to use reasonable diligence to ascertain the best inter-dealer market for customer and failed to buy or sell in such market so that that the price to its customer was favorable. It also consented to the finding that the firm’s supervisory system was not reasonably designed to achieve compliance with respect to the applicable securities laws, regulations and FINRA Rules. The firm was censured, fined $35,000.00 and required to revise its supervisory procedures.
FFEC Wealth Partners LLC Has A History of Customer Complaints
In addition to having a history of securities industry regulatory sanctions, FINRA BrokerCheck for FFEC Wealth Partners LLC reveals it has a prior history of customer-initiated complaints and/or arbitrations, including but not necessarily limited to the following:
- On February 5, 2018 a customer-initiated arbitration was filed naming FFEC Wealth Partners LLC as a respondent. The customer alleged failure to supervise. The customer further alleged damages in the amount of $780,000.00. On January 7, 2019 the arbitration panel issued an award against FFEC in the amount of $1,050,856.14.
If you or someone you know has or had a brokerage account with FFEC Wealth Partners LLC and have concerns regarding losses in your investments or possible sales practice violations including fraud, you may be entitled to recover lost funds. The Law Office of Kevin J. Deloatch, Esq. has an extensive securities law practice and over 30 years of experience on Wall Street. Call today at (646) 792-2156 for a free consultation. The time to file your claim may be limited so you should call today to avoid delay.
