• November 15, 2019
• Great American Investors

William Bryson Baum aka William Baum, (CRD # 1528847) is a Financial Advisor at Great American Investors in Overland Park, Kansas.  William Baum has been in the securities industry since 1986 and previously worked at First Union Securities.

According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), William Baum has been the subject of eight customer complaint disclosures during his career and one regulatory suspension.  Among the recent customer complaints filed against William Baum include the following:

• September 2019—”Over the period of 2014 to 2017, claimants allege that respondent failed to recommend appropriate investments, disclose all conflicts of interest and fully inform claimants about the associated risks.” The alleged damages are $87,000 and the matter remains pending.
• May 2019—“ Over the period of 2008 to 2019, claimants allege that respondent recommended unsuitable trading strategies and failed to act in their best interest.” The damages are unspecified.
• May 2016—”Respondent did not act in the customer’s best interest when managing his accounts from May 2015 until July 2015.” The matter was settled for $30,000.
• March 2016—”Claimants allege that between March 2010 and January 2016 respondent mismanaged their accounts citing individual stock concentrations and trading frequency.” The matter was settled for $112,500.

In addition, in 2017, FINRA sanctioned William Baum, suspending him for a period of thirty days and fining him $5,000.  According to the FINRA sanction, “ Baum consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he sent 58 text messages relating to his securities business – including messages about investment strategies and specific securities – to sixteen customers over the course of a year. The findings stated that by doing so, Baum prevented his member firm from supervising those communications, violated the firm’s policy about business correspondence, and contradicted his attestation that he would use his firm’s email system for all business correspondence and retain all correspondence with customers for the firm’s review.”

For a copy of the FINRA sanction, click https://www.finra.org/sites/default/files/fda_documents/2015048070901_FDA_JG412566%20%282019-1563252560888%29.pdf

For a copy of William Baum’s CRD, click https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/1528847#disclosuresSection.

Financial advisors have a legal and regulatory obligation to recommend only suitable investments that are appropriate for their clients’ needs and objectives. Their employing brokerage firm has a legal and regulatory obligation to supervise the Financial Advisors’ sales practices and dealings with clients.  To the extent any of these duties are breached, the customer may be entitled to a recovery of his or her investment losses.

The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. represents investors nationwide in securities litigation and arbitration on a contingency fee basis.  Matt Wolper, the Managing Principal of the Wolper Law Firm, P.A., is a trial lawyer who has handled hundreds of securities cases during his career involving a wide range of products, strategies and securities.  Prior to representing investors, he was a partner with a national law firm, where he represented some of the largest banks and brokerage firms in the world in securities matters.  We can be reached at 800.931.8452 or by email at mwolper@wolperlawfirm.com.