Did you suffer investment losses with Hennion & Walsh (CRD# 25766) (SEC# 8-41988)?
Galvin Legal, PLLC is launching an investigation on behalf of investors who may have suffered losses investing with Hennion & Walsh. If you suffered losses investing with Hennion & Walsh, then Galvin Legal, PLLC may be able to help you recover your losses in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA“) arbitration claim.
If you suffered losses and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
As of October 10, 2020, Hennion & Walsh’s FINRA BrokerCheck Report contains the following:
12 Regulatory Event Disclosures
See FINRA Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent No. 2013039202501
4 Arbitration Disclosures
UPDATE 10/07/2020: According to FINRA’s March 2019 Disciplinary Actions: “Hennion & Walsh, Inc. (CRD #25766, Parsippany, New Jersey) January 23, 2019 – An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured, fined $165,000, ordered to pay $305,438.83 in restitution to customers, and shall certify to FINRA that it has established and implemented policies, procedures and internal controls reasonably designed to address and remediate the issues identified in the AWC. Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that its brokers recommended early exchanges of proprietary Unit Investment Trusts (UITs) in the same series (a series-to-series switch) in customer accounts that had substantially similar investment objectives and portfolios. The findings stated that the firm’s registered representatives did not reasonably assess whether the alleged benefits to the customers from the switches outweighed the additional sales charges the customers would incur by making the switch and therefore they did not have a reasonable basis to recommend these series-to-series switches to their customers. As result, customers incurred unnecessary sales charges of $305,438.83. The findings also stated that the firm failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system, including WSPs, reasonably designed to detect and prevent unsuitable series-to-series UIT switching. The firm did not provide reasonable guidance to its sales staff on the special suitability concerns raised by early series-to-series switches and despite its written procedures stating that the customer for UIT exchanges should sign switch forms, it did not enforce this procedure. In addition, although its trade-alert system flagged UIT switches, the firm did not provide reasonable guidance in its procedures, or otherwise to supervisors, on how to evaluate such switches. The principal at the firm tasked with much of the day-to-day trade-review responsibilities did not receive training on how to evaluate series-to-series switches and he did not take into account the increased costs associated with an early exchange. Early exchanges of a UIT, including a series-to-series switch, is a red flag of a potentially unsuitable transaction; however, the firm’s supervisory system was not reasonably designed to address such transactions. (FINRA Case #2013039202501)
Main Office Location
2001 ROUTE 46
WATERVIEW PLAZA
PARSIPPANY, NJ 07054-1018
UNITED STATES
Mailing Address
2001 ROUTE 46
WATERVIEW PLAZA
PARSIPPANY, NJ 07054-1018
UNITED STATES
Business Telephone Number
973-299-8989
If you suffered losses and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
Hennion & Walsh’s Direct Owners and Executive Officers
HENNION, RICHARD (CRD#:1315386), EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
WALSH, WILLIAM WALTER (CRD#:1174993), PRESIDENT
FITZSIMMONS, PHILLIP (CRD#:1625889), CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER
HENNION, WILLIAM (CRD#:2048378), VICE PRESIDENT
HOFFMANN, DEBORAH ANN (CRD#:2773687), FINOP CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
KOWALSKI, STEPHEN GEORGE (CRD#:1919574), VICE PRESIDENT
MAHN, KEVIN DOUGLAS (CRD#:2519398), MANAGING DIRECTOR
If you suffered losses and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
Due Diligence Requirement
FINRA requires broker-dealers to conduct due diligence on investments and to conduct a suitability analysis when recommending securities to a customer that takes into account the customer’s knowledge and experience. FINRA Rule 2111(a) states that “a member or an associated person must have a reasonable basis to believe that a recommended transaction or investment strategy involving a security or securities is suitable for the customer, based on the information obtained through the reasonable diligence of the member or associated person to ascertain the customer’s investment profile. A customer’s investment profile includes, but is not limited to, the customer’s age, other investments, financial situation and needs, tax status, investment objectives, investment experience, investment time horizon, liquidity needs, risk tolerance, and any other information the customer may disclose to the member or associated person in connection with such recommendation.”
Rule 2111 is composed of three main obligations: reasonable-basis suitability, customer-specific suitability, and quantitative suitability. Broker-Dealers that fail to conduct adequate due diligence on investments they recommend or that make unsuitable recommendations can be held responsible for the customer’s losses in a FINRA arbitration claim.
If you suffered losses and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
Request a Free Consultation with a Securities Attorney
If you suffered losses investing with Hennion & Walsh and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
This information is all publicly available and is being provided to you by Galvin Legal, PLLC.
Galvin Legal, PLLC is a national securities arbitration, securities mediation, securities litigation, securities fraud, securities regulation and compliance, and investor protection law practice. For more information on Galvin Legal, PLLC and its representation of investors, please visit www.galvinlegal.com or call 1-800-405-5117.
