Investor Alleges Julie Smith Engaged in Negligent Conduct

Julie Smith (CRD #: 1338081), a broker registered with Moloney Securities Company, is involved in a pending dispute, according to her BrokerCheck record, accessed on September 25, 2022. If you have questions about her conduct as a broker, read on.

Investor Dispute

On August 2, 2022, an investor alleged that Julie Smith committed violations relating to suitability and negligence in 2020. The client seeks $150,000 in damages in this pending dispute.

FINRA Rule 2111

FINRA Rule 2111 requires brokers to take investors’ profiles into account when recommending investments. Investors’ profiles describe their risk tolerance, tax status, and other characteristics.

Common violations of this rule include:

• Recommendations of high-risk and illiquid investments. Illiquid investments are not only difficult to sell but can also inflict high fees if investors try to cash out early.
• Quantitative unsuitability. This means that a broker executed an excessive number of trades, which can quickly rack up fees that eat into clients’ returns.
• Recommendations of unsuitable investment strategies. For instance, overconcentration in a certain security is frequently an unsuitable investment strategy due to the degree of risk involved.

Investors who rely on their brokers for recommendations may be able to recover their funds by seeking out FINRA arbitration.

What qualifies as broker negligence?

Many forms of broker misconduct can qualify as negligence. Common examples include unsuitable investment recommendations, misrepresentations and omissions of fact, and excessive trading. Investors who believe their losses are the result of broker negligence may be able to recover their losses through FINRA arbitration.

Tax Lien

On November 15, 2019, Julie Smith became the subject of a $82,015.33 tax lien.

Background Information

Julie Smith has passed the following exams:

• Series 63 – Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination
• SIE – Securities Industry Essentials Examination
• Series 6 – Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Representative Examination

Julie Smith is a registered broker in 12 states.

She has also worked for the following firms:

• The O.N. Equity Sales Company (CRD#:2936)
• Vestax Securities Corporation (CRD#:10332)
• Walnut Street Securities (CRD#:15840)
• Chubb Securities Corporation (CRD#:3870)
• New England Securities Corporation (CRD#:615)
• John Hancock Distributors (CRD#:468)

Kurta Law Can Help

If you worked with Julie Smith and you have concerns about your investments, please contact us today at 877-600-0098 or info@kurtalawfirm.com for a free consultation.

For over 20 years, Kurta Law has advocated on behalf of investors who want to recover their investment losses from brokers and brokerage firms. Kurta Law is a nationally recognized law firm and exclusively represents investors against brokers and brokerage firms on a contingency basis. This means that the firm only earns a fee if our securities attorneys recover money on your behalf.