Investor Alert — Former Merrill Lynch Stockbroker Discloses Eleven Customer Complaints Alleging Unsuitability and Related Claims
According to publicly available information, former Merrill Lynch registered representative Jacquin P. Fink (CRD# 207807) has been named or otherwise involved in a total of eleven customer disputes. FINRA BrokerCheck indicates that ten of these disputes have settled for an aggregate amount of nearly $4 million, and one dispute remains pending as of this writing.
Mr. Fink was affiliated with Merrill Lynch for 51 years, having begun working as a broker around March 1968. As of January 2020, Mr. Fink is no longer employed by Merrill Lynch. From 1994 until December 2019, 10 Merrill Lynch customers filed securities arbitration claims alleging that Mr. Fink made unsuitable investment recommendations, in addition to other related claims, including allegations of excessive trading and misrepresentation and omission of material facts.
Financial advisors like Mr. Fink have a legal duty and regulatory obligation to only recommend suitable investments to their customers that are appropriate for their clients’ needs and in accordance with their stated investment objectives and risk tolerance. If this duty is breached, then investors who have suffered losses may be entitled to recover these losses. Reasonable basis suitability, as set forth under FINRA Rule 2111, requires that a recommended investment (or investment strategy) be suitable or appropriate for at least some investors. Further, in order to adhere to the reasonable basis standard, a broker-dealer, and by extension the broker, must conduct adequate due diligence on an investment so that the broker may evaluate the risks and rewards of the investment.
Further, brokers must also ensure that they adhere to their customer-specific suitability obligations, which requires them to have a reasonable basis to believe that a specific investment recommendation (including an investment strategy) is suitable for a particular customer based on the customer’s profile. Pursuant to FINRA Rule 2111, certain criteria must be evaluated to conduct a comprehensive suitability analysis, including the investor’s age, financial situation and needs, tax status, investment objectives and risk tolerance, as well as time horizon and liquidity needs. In instances where a broker makes an unsuitable recommendation, then the customer may bring a claim against the broker, as well as the broker-dealer for its failure to supervise any negligence or other misconduct.
If you have invested with Jacquin P. Fink, or another financial advisor, and believe that you have suffered losses due to unsuitable investment recommendations, you may be able to recover your losses in securities arbitration before FINRA. The attorneys at Giarrusso Law Group LLC have considerable experience working with investors on claims related to unsuitable investments and investment programs. Investors who wish to discuss a possible claim are invited to contact us by telephone at (201) 771-1115 or by email at info@gialawgroup.com for a no-cost and no-obligation consultation.