Portsmouth Financial Services
Kurta Law is investigating Portsmouth Financial Services’ broker recommendations. Portsmouth Financial Services (CRD#: 13980) is a brokerage firm that has headquarters in San Francisco, California.
Portsmouth Financial Services has also operated as Portsmouth-SmartLife Financial Group.
Fees and Conflicts of Interest
Portsmouth Financial Services discloses the fees it charges and compensation is receives in its Customer Relationship Summary:
- The firm charges fees on your transactions.
- Certain investments, such as mutual funds and variable annuities, come with additional fees. You may need to pay surrender charges if you sell these investments early.
- You will be charged 12b-1 fees on your mutual fund investments on an ongoing basis.
- The firm also receives other payments from third-party product sponsors and managers that incentivize the firm to recommend those investments.
- Pershing is the manager/sponsor of the money market sweep program that Portsmouth Financial Services offers to investors, and shares revenue from those investments with the firm.
Broker-Dealer Services
Portsmouth Financial Services offers the following investment products as well as stocks and bonds. Keep in mind that these investments may feature excessive risk for most retail investors:
Regulatory Actions
Portsmouth Financial Services discloses its history of regulatory actions in its detailed BrokerCheck report, including a fine by FINRA.
FINRA Censure and Fine
In a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver & Consent (AWC) filed on August 13, 2024, Portsmouth Financial Services consented to the entry of findings that it allegedly failed to maintain a supervisory system that would identify unsuitable transactions involving non-traditional exchange-traded products (NT-ETPs).
NT-ETPs are complex investments that typically “reset,” or rebalance their portfolios, each day based on the performance of their underlying index. This makes them generally unsuitable as long-term investments, and the intended holding period for an NT-ETP is typically described in its prospectus.
The AWC alleged that the firm’s Written Supervisory Procedures (WSPs) failed to provide guidance on how to evaluate NT-ETP recommendations and that the firm did not confirm that its brokers fully understood the features and risks of NT-ETPs.
Portsmouth Financial Services was censured by FINRA, fined $25,000, and ordered to pay $31,667.02 plus interest in restitution to investors. You can access the full AWC here.
FINRA Rule 3110 (Failure to Supervise)
FINRA Rule 3110 requires that firms establish systems of supervision over their employees in order to detect and prevent violations of securities regulations. Among other things, firms must appoint supervisors and ensure that they have adequate training or experience.
Brokers with Misconduct Allegations on Their Records
Kurta Law is aware of the following current or former brokers with BrokerCheck records associated with Portsmouth Financial Services. If you have concerns about your broker, contact a securities attorney.
- Phillip Kao: https://www.kurtalawfirm.com/blog/phillip-kao/
- Steven Stanford: https://www.kurtalawfirm.com/blog/steven-stanford/
- Kelly Lawson: https://www.kurtalawfirm.com/blog/kelly-lawson/
- Matthew Childs: https://www.kurtalawfirm.com/blog/matthew-childs/
- Ray Lent: https://www.kurtalawfirm.com/blog/ray-lent/
Kurta Law Can Help
Investors who lost money working with a Portsmouth Financial Services broker or advisor should reach out to an investment fraud lawyer for help. Our attorneys offer free case evaluations and do not charge a fee unless we win your case. Call (877) 600-0098 or email info@kurtalawfirm.com.