- August 6, 2018
- Merrill Lynch
The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. is currently investigating claims against Ethan De Naray, a former Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who is now with Feltl & Co. Ethan De Naray has been in the securities industry since the 2002 and previously worked at Citigroup Global Markets.
According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), on August 3, 2018, Ethan De Naray was sanctioned by FINRA for allegedly “effecting more than 100 discretionary transactions in two accounts of one customer without obtaining prior written authorization from the customer, and without the firm having accepted the accounts as discretionary.” It was further alleged that Ethan De Naray mismarked order tickets as unsolicited (initiated by the customer) when they were in facto solicited (recommended by Ethan De Naray). FINRA imposed a monetary sanction and suspension of one month.
In addition, in May 2017, Merrill Lynch discharged Ethan De Naray for “conduct including exercising discretion in non-discretionary customer accounts and mismarking trades as unsolicited.” Also in 2017, Merrill Lynch settled a customer complaint against Ethan De Naray for $92,000 based on allegations of unauthorized trading.
https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/4571532#disclosuresSection
Financial advisors have a legal and regulatory obligation to recommend only suitable investments that are appropriate for their clients’ needs and objectives. In addition, Financial Advisors must first obtain authorization from their customers before placing trades in a customer account. 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.
If you or someone you know was a customer of Ethan De Naray, and you experienced investment losses, please contact the Wolper Law Firm, P.A. at 800.931.8452 or by email at mwolper@wolperlawfirm.com to discuss your specific situation and the legal options available. The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. represents investors nationwide in securities litigation and arbitration.
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. Simply put, he knows how the other side evaluates cases, which gives you a competitive advantage.
Attorney Matthew Wolper
Matt Wolper is a trial lawyer who focuses exclusively on securities litigation and arbitration. Mr. Wolper has handled hundreds of securities matters nationwide before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), JAMS, and in state and federal court. Mr. Wolper has handled and tried cases involving complex financial products and strategies ranging from traditional stocks and bonds to options, margin and other securities-based lending products, closed/open-end mutual funds, structured products, hedge funds, and penny stocks. [Attorney Bio]