The press has reported that Merrill Lynch recently fired two veteran brokers, Stephen Brown and James Goetz, for recommending clients to invest in a hedge fund outside Merrill Lynch, without Merrill Lynch’s knowledge and permission. It is reported that Messrs. Brown and Goetz managed approximately $2.5 billion in assets and were part of Merrill’s Private Banking and Investment Group, or P-BIG, in Pittsford, New York, a suburb of Rochester.
Selling away takes place when a stock broker recommends the sale of an investment that is neither authorized nor vetted by his employing securities brokerage firm, and the transaction is processed “away” from the securities firm. Selling away can be a violation of securities industry rules.
Customers who lost money in a selling away investment recommended by their broker may be able to recover their losses through an arbitration claim against the firm for its failure to reasonably supervise the activities of its employee-broker.
If you were a customer of either Stephen J. Brown or James P. Goetz and you suffered losses in a hedge fund sold away from Merrill Lynch upon their recommendation, call attorney David Chase at the Law Firm of David R. Chase, P.A., for a free and confidential consultation.
Mr. Chase, formerly a prosecutor for the SEC with over 20 years of investment fraud experience, aggressively represents investors nationwide against securities brokerage firms in claims to recover investment losses.
Mr. Chase is originally from Pittsford, New York.
For more detailed information about Mr. Chase’s securities law background and the firm’s representation of defrauded securities investors, you may visit: davidchaselaw.com. Or, you can contact Mr. Chase toll-free directly at 800-760-0912, or by e-mail at: david@davidchaselaw.com.
