SEC Sues Greenville Financial Advisor Cary Edward Urich Over Leveraged and Inverse ETF Recommendations to Elderly Clients

• November 6, 2026
• United Financial Planners

On October 29, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil complaint against Cary Edward Urich (CRD# 2132001), a financial advisor based in Greenville, South Carolina. The SEC alleges that Urich placed large portions of 54 clients’ accounts, most of them elderly, into leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and held them for years. According to the complaint, those clients lost approximately 70% of their investments on average. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Greenville Division (SEC Litigation Release; Complaint, Case No. 6:26-cv-05267-JDA). The SEC’s claims are allegations and have not been proven.

Broker Background

According to his FINRA BrokerCheck report, Urich has been in the securities industry since 1991. He is currently registered as a broker with Vanderbilt Securities, LLC (CRD# 5953) and as an investment adviser representative with Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp (CRD# 112694). Both registrations run through a branch office at 330 E. Coffee Street in Greenville, South Carolina.

From September 2017 through December 2023, Urich was registered with United Planners’ Financial Services of America (CRD# 20804), the firm at which the alleged misconduct occurred. His earlier firms include H. Beck, Inc.; Raymond James Financial Services, Inc.; J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons, LLC; Quick & Reilly, Inc.; and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated. He holds the Series 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 31, 63, and 65 licenses.

The SEC’s Allegations

The SEC alleges that from April 2020 through November 2023, while he had discretionary trading authority over client accounts at United Planners, Urich invested clients in five leveraged and/or inverse ETFs: SDS, DXD, TWM, QID, and UVXY. According to the complaint:

• The clients had moderate or moderately aggressive risk tolerances and growth or growth-and-income objectives. Their average age in 2020 was 71.
• The ETFs made up 72%, 63%, and 58% of the clients’ account values at the end of 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively.
• Urich held the positions for an average of 798 days, even though the prospectuses and regulatory guidance warned that these products are generally designed to be held for short periods, often a single day.
• Urich allegedly reviewed those warnings himself but did not disclose the holding-period risks or the products’ negative historical returns to his clients.
• Urich received roughly 90% of the management fees charged on the accounts.

The complaint describes three examples. A 93-year-old client invested about $1,247,000 and lost about $746,000. A 76-year-old client invested about $351,000 and lost about $235,000. An 81-year-old client invested about $462,000 and lost about $310,000.

The SEC charges Urich with violating Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. It seeks a permanent injunction, civil penalties, and a two-year bar from acting as or associating with an investment adviser.

Customer Disputes and Other Disclosures

Urich’s BrokerCheck report discloses two customer disputes, three terminations (two of which appear to be duplicate entries for the same event), and one tax lien:

• FINRA Arbitration No. 22-01463 (settled). A customer alleged unsuitability, misrepresentations and omissions, self-dealing, breach of fiduciary duty, and violations of FINRA Rules 2111 and 3030 involving inverse/leveraged ETFs. The customer claimed $1,000,000 in damages. The case settled in August 2023 for $450,000.
• Written complaint (settled). In June 2024, a customer alleged unsuitability, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, and deception involving inverse/leveraged ETFs, claiming $710,000 in damages. The matter settled in September 2024 for $325,000.
• Raymond James (October 2010). Urich was discharged. The firm stated it was “no longer comfortable supervising” him due to a misrepresentation regarding his termination from his prior firm. Urich disputes the characterization.
• J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons (September 2010). Urich was permitted to resign after he accepted a gift from a client without following firm approval procedures. The gift was returned to the client’s estate.
• Tax lien. In June 2025, the IRS filed a $65,211.46 tax lien, which Urich reports is outstanding and subject to an installment plan.

Leveraged and Inverse ETFs Are Not Long-Term Investments

Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver a multiple of an index’s daily return. Inverse ETFs seek to deliver the opposite of that daily return. Because these funds reset daily, their returns over longer periods can differ sharply from the underlying index, and losses compound in volatile markets. FINRA warned in Regulatory Notice 09-31 that these products are typically unsuitable for retail investors who plan to hold them for more than one trading session. Learn more about exchange-traded funds.

Financial advisors must have a reasonable basis to believe a recommendation is suitable for the specific customer. Investment advisers with discretion also owe their clients a fiduciary duty. Brokerage firms, in turn, must reasonably supervise their representatives. When the affected clients are retirees, the conduct may also raise concerns about elder financial abuse.

We Help Investors Recover Investment Losses

If you invested with Cary Urich and suffered losses in leveraged or inverse ETFs, or in other investments, you may be able to recover them through FINRA arbitration. The Wolper Law Firm represents investors nationwide in claims against brokers and brokerage firms. Attorney Matt Wolper has spent his career representing investors. Call 800.931.8452 or contact us for a free consultation.