Hank Werner and Legend Securities
Have you lost money with financial advisor Hank Werner of New York, New York? We are investigating allegations made by FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, against Hank M. Werner. FINRA alleged that Werner excessively traded or churned a blind, elderly widow’s account, while Werner was associated with two brokerage firms, Liberty Partners Financial Services and Legend Securities.
FINRA alleged that from October 2012 to December 2015, Hank Werner excessively traded his customer’s account, earning himself over $240,000 in commissions, while the customer suffered losses of approximately $184,000. The annual cost equity ratios for this account varied from 64% to 97%. FINRA seeks to punish Werner for this activity.
Excessive Trading or Churning
One of the most common ways to determine whether an account was excessively traded or churned is to determine the annual turnover ratio. This ratio shows how often the securities in the account are bought or sold within a year. Authority has held that an annual turnover of 4 or more is a “presumption” of churning, and an annual turnover of 6 or more is a “conclusion” of churning. Thus, if the accounts had turnovers over 6, then there would be a conclusion that there was churning or excessive trading.
Another way to determine whether there was excessive trading is the cost equity ratio. This ratio takes the commissions generated by the trading, divided by the average value of the account. This ratio essentially determines the returns that an account needs to make just to break even. Thus, an account with a cost-equity ratio of 64% would need to earn 64% just to break even from all the costs of trading.
Hank Werner was a financial advisor and registered representative of Legend Securities from December 2012 to March 2016. He was also affiliated with Liberty Partners Financial Services from July 2012 to December 2012. He worked at branch offices in New York, New York and Bakersfield, California. Werner has been the subject of at least one customer complaint, and he had also been previously fired by two other brokerage firms. Additionally, Werner has had six tax liens filed against him.
Brokerage firms like Legend Securities have a responsibility to adequately supervise all representatives who are registered through their firm. Brokerage firms also must take steps to ensure that their financial advisors follow all securities rules and regulations, as well as internal firm policies. When brokerage firms fail to adequately supervise their registered representatives, they may be liable for investment losses sustained by customers.
Israels & Neuman PLC is a securities and investment fraud law firm with offices in Denver, Colorado and the Seattle area. We represent investors in FINRA arbitration proceedings in all 50 states, including investors throughout New York and the East Coast. Our attorneys have represented over one thousand investors against many brokerage firms in the past, including Legend Securities, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Smith Barney, Stifel Nicolaus & Company, UBS Financial Services, Oppenheimer, Charles Schwab, Wells Fargo Advisors, Ameriprise Financial Services, Raymond James, ProEquities, Securities America, National Securities Corp., and many others.
Click to view: Werner, Hank FINRA Complaint
Click to view: Werner, Hank BrokerCheck 8.2.16
Our office handles all of our arbitration cases on a contingent fee basis, meaning you do not pay unless we recover money for you.
HAVE YOU LOST MONEY WITH HANK WERNER OR LEGEND SECURITIES?
CONTACT ISRAELS & NEUMAN, PLC FOR A FREE CASE EVALUATION
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Israels & Neuman, PLC is a private law firm and is not affiliated with any government or law enforcement agency. Any investigation referenced in this blog is independent in nature and is being conducted by our law firm privately, not in conjunction with any government or law enforcement agency. All information contained in this blog should be deemed statements of opinion derived from the author’s review of public records, not statements of fact. This blog is advertising material and does not create an attorney client relationship, nor does it constitute legal advice. Everyone’s situation is different and the question of whether or not you have a claim will vary on a case-by-case basis. In contingent representation, clients may still be liable for costs.