Financial Advisor William Hobby (UBS Financial Services, Inc.) Customer Complaints

• February 17, 2019
• UBS Financial Services, Inc.

The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. is currently investigating claims against William Hobby, a former Financial Advisor at UBS Financial Services in Atlanta, Georgia.  William Hobby has been in the securities industry since 1992 and previously worked at Morgan Stanley. 

According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), William Hobby has disclosed twenty-three customer complaints during his career, which is an exceptionally high number for a single Financial Advisor.  Among the complaints include the following:

• October 2018—”The client alleges that due to her age she should not have been labeled as an aggressive investor and suffered losses she could not afford.”  The dispute was settled for $24,000.
• May 2018—”Client’s Counsel alleges that his client was placed in unsuitable securities based despite his client’s investment objectives and risk tolerance. Counsel further alleges that the client’s risk profile was changed to “aggressive” without client’s permission and that the client was told he was invested in a “conservative” portfolio.”  The matter was settled for $80,000.
• November 2018—”Claimants allege that their Financial Advisor recommended unsuitable, risky and over-concentrated investments, executed excessive transactions and exercised discretion without written authorization.”  The matter was settled for $350,000. 
• September 2004—”
• ALLEGED IMPROPER HANDLING OF ACCOUNT BETWEEN APPROXIMATELY 1998 THROUGH 2002.”  The matter was settled for $72,000. 
• December 2003—ALLEGED IMPROPER HANDLING OF ACCOUNT BETWEEN APPROXIMATELY 1998 THRIUGH 2001.”  The matter was settled for $125,000. 

In addition to the customer disclosures, William Hobby was terminiated by UBS in September 2018 after the “firm review found that he (1) exercised discretion in a client account without written authorization…” 

For a copy of the William Hobby’s CRD, click https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/2240076

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.