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LaSalle St Securities, LLC (“LaSalle St Securities”) (CRD# 7191) has many different complaints filed by FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority), state regulatory organizations, and investors such as yourself. At the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, we have investigated LaSalle St Securities, its regulatory and customer complaints, and have also represented investors with claims of fraud, negligence, and breach of fiduciary duty against this organization and its financial advisors.

If you believe you have a claim against LaSalle St Securities , you should strongly consider hiring a securities fraud lawyer. You should not wait until it’s too late to file a claim. The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., offers free consultations. Give us a call at 800-732-2889. Let’s discuss your case and see what we can do to help you get the compensation you need and deserve.

Can I Sue LaSalle St Securities, LLC?

If you’ve lost money caused by LaSalle St Securities and/or its employees’ misconduct then the answer is, YES,  you can sue LaSalle St Securities but the odds are you signed away your right to sue in court and agreed to resolve your dispute in a FINRA arbitration proceeding.  Attorney Robert Wayne Pearce has over 40 years of personal experience in FINRA arbitration proceedings and knows very well how you can not only sue LaSalle St Securities in FINRA arbitration proceedings, but WIN that arbitration. The easiest way to know if you have a viable case against LaSalle St Securities is to call Attorney Pearce at our office at 800-732-2889.

Investment Losses? We Can Help

Discuss your legal options with an attorney at The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A.

Get A Free Consultation

or, give us a ring at (800) 732-2889.

Robert Pearce

What is LaSalle St Securities, LLC?

LaSalle St Securities (CRD# 7191) has been registered with the SEC and FINRA as a broker dealer since 1975.  The company is indirectly controlled by the John W.  McDermott through holding company’s and headquartered in Elmhurst, Illinois with small branch offices located throughout the United States.  Its independent broker-dealer Business Model has grown through acquisition and organic development of primarily one and two person registered representative offices supervised remotely. Today there are over 300 registered representatives in every state.  It is now one of the 50 largest independent broker-dealer and investment advisory firms in the United States.

LaSalle St Securities, LLC Has Many Different Regulatory Problems 

LaSalle St Securities’ rapid growth has not been without consequences. There have been approximately 15 Federal, state and self-regulatory body disclosure events; that is, final and formal proceedings initiated by a regulatory authority (e.g., a state or federal securities agency like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or self-regulatory body like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) ) for a violation(s) of investment-related rules or regulations. In addition, there have been hundreds of customer complaints filed against LaSalle St Securities for misconduct by its securities sales and investment advisory representatives that are not reported by the firm on its Central Depository Record. 

We have reported and written about these regulatory problems and customer complaints over many years. LaSalle St Securities is a repeat offender: there are at least 9 FINRA reported disciplinary proceedings citing the firm with one form of supervisory lapses or another in the last decade.

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SOME OF THE REGULATORY PROBLEMS LASALLE ST SECURITIES, LLC HAS FACED OVER THE YEARS*

LaSalle St Securities has been repeatedly censured, warned, and fined over $1 million for its own misconduct and failure to supervise its army of financial advisors.* A few of the notable FINRA Sanctions for its Supervisory Failures are below:

FINRA Sanctioned LaSalle St Securities For Supervisory Lapses

In the course of two routine examinations, FINRA staff found certain deficiencies that occurred at various times during a four-year period. With respect to a private placement offering involving Seat Exchange Corporation LaSalle St Securities failed to exercise adequate due diligence before allowing a registered representative to recommend the offering to four accredited investors. With respect to a private offering by Revitalight Operators, LLC, LaSalle St Securities distributed a private-placement memorandum to potential investors that did not include certain material facts and relied on a flawed methodology for projecting return on investment. LaSalle St Securities also was aware of an offering of Platinum Wealth Partners, Inc. (”PWP”), with which one of its registered representatives was associated. LaSalle St Securities failed to supervise adequately the representative’s participation in the offering. LaSalle St Securities also failed to ensure that the offering documents were appropriately filed with FINRA. Independently, a second representative of LaSalle St Securities participated in private securities transactions away from the Firm, which the Firm did not supervise adequately. Finally, LaSalle St Securities allowed its representatives to send consolidated reports to its customers, but failed to adequately supervise those reports. As a result of the above, LaSalle St Securities violated FINRA Rules 2010, and 5122, and NASD Rules 30’10 and 3040.  As a result, FINRA imposed a censure and a fine in the amount of $175,000 upon the brokerage firm.

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FINRA Sanctioned LaSalle St Securities For Market Timing Abuses

FINRA investigated and uncovered violations of NASD Rules in connection with market timing activity effected by a hedge fund customer of LaSalle St Securities and one registered representative of LaSalle St Securities.  Market timing refers to the practice of short term buying and selling of mutual fund shares in order to exploit inefficiencies in the pricing of those shares. Market timing is accomplished either through purchases and redemptions of mutual fund shares from the mutual fund company or from mutual fund sub-accounts of variable annuities. FINRA also found that LaSalle St Securities also lacked adequate systems or procedures for the preservation of all electronic mail communications.  All of the foregoing conduct violated NASD Conduct Rules 2110, 3010 and 3110, as well as SEC Rules 17a-3 and 17a-4.  As a result, FINRA imposed a censure and ordered disgorgement of commissions in the amount of $46,500 and ordered LaSalle St Securities to pay restitution in the amount over $46,000 to the mutual funds effected by the market timing activity and a fine of $125,000.

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SEC Sanctioned LaSalle St Securities For Undisclosed Compensation Practices

The SEC investigated and found that registered investment adviser Tilden, Loucks & Woodnorth, LLC (“Tilden”) obtained undisclosed compensation by charging increased commissions on trades for its clients through its affiliated registered broker-dealer, LaSalle St. Securities. Tilden inaccurately told clients they received a discount to LaSalle’s commission rates when actually Tilden set those commission rates at increased levels.

The SEC found Tilden willfully violated Sections 206(2) and 207 of the Advisers Act; Loucks caused Tilden’s violations of Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act and willfully caused Tilden’s violations of Section 207 of the Advisers Act; and LaSalle St Securities, through Loucks, caused Tilden’s violations of Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act.

SEC ordered LaSalle St Securities to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act, censured the broker-dealer, and ordered it to pay over $200,000 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest.

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*Above are only some of the regulatory disciplinary actions filed against LaSalle St Securities by FINRA. There are at least 12 more SEC, FINRA, NASSA, and/or state securities regulator investigations and enforcement actions reported on BrokerCheck as regulatory disciplinary proceeding disclosures.

LaSalle St Securities Customer Complaints

There have been many complaints filed against LaSalle St Securities stockbrokers and investment advisors over the years. We have launched a number of investigations of current and former LaSalle St Securities advisors, including:

If you have lost money investing with a LaSalle St Securities advisor or others within this brokerage firm, it’s important that you reach out to an investment loss attorney quickly because the statutes of limitations can bar your claims. Call us at 800-732-2889.

Why Does LaSalle St Securities, LLC Have So Many Regulatory Problems And Customer Complaints?

Independent broker-dealers are notorious for their lax supervisory practices and procedures. The business model of these franchise type operations is to open many offices nationwide for steady growth of fixed monthly revenues without the costs attendant to a full-service branch office with on-site manager, compliance officer and operation personnel. The registered representatives of these independent broker-dealers generally operate as separately incorporated businesses. They are not employees of the broker-dealer and therefore not controlled in the same manner as full-service brokerage firm representatives. The registered representatives control their structure and costs to maximize profits and often leave the protection of investors’ rights and interests as their lowest priority.

The typical supervisory organization of independent broker-dealer operations is to have other independent contractors operate Offices of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJs) to monitor the registered representatives from geographically remote offices and then report to the main franchisor’s compliance office at national headquarters. The supervisors at the OSJs are not employees of the franchisor and often run their own brokerage, insurance and other businesses. They are not devoted full-time supervisors of the smaller branch offices. Consequently, OSJ managers cannot and do not supervise the day-to-day operations of the registered representatives of these Independent broker-dealers. 

Generally, there is no immediate review of new accounts opened, securities transactions, business records, cash or securities receipts and deliveries, correspondence and business activities unrelated to the securities brokerage operation at these independent brokerage firms. The lax supervision leaves investors who have transferred their accounts to the smaller independent broker-dealer vulnerable to sales of securities that have not been reviewed or authorized by anyone other than the sales representative earning a commission. There may be no one onsite to detect forgeries of clients’ signatures on documents, the placement of inaccurate information about a client’s investment objectives and financial condition to document the suitability of a particular investment recommendation. Oftentimes there is no daily review of sales literature and client correspondence to protect against misrepresentations and misleading statements being made to investors. In fact, it is not unusual for there to be only one compliance audit visit per year at many of these offices.

These Independent brokerage business operations are worrisome to the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), which has documented more instances of sales abuse and consequently investor losses at these firms than the traditional brokerage firms with branch offices with on-site managers and compliance personnel.

Did LaSalle St Securities, LLC Advisor Misconduct Cause You Investment Losses?

When financial advisor misconduct has caused you to lose substantial value to your investment accounts, you have the right to seek reimbursement from the responsible parties. LaSalle St Securities is responsible like any employer for its financial advisors acts and omissions. In addition, it has an independent duty to supervise its stockbrokers and investment advisors. These cases can be extremely complex, and so having the support of a reputable attorney who is experienced in recovering investment losses for investors is key to your success. Many customers make the mistake of contacting LaSalle without representation with an attorney about their complaints and have their complaints denied.

Related Read: Can You Sue Your Brokerage Firm?

Investment Losses? We Can Help

Discuss your legal options with an attorney at The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A.

Get A Free Consultation

or, give us a ring at (800) 732-2889.

Robert Pearce

Consult With An Attorney Who Recovers Investment Losses Caused By LaSalle St Securities, LLC Today!

The securities attorneys at The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., have helped countless investors over the last 40 years recover the losses from their investment accounts that were caused by broker negligence or misconduct. The firm has extensive experience with LaSalle St Securities cases, and Attorney Pearce is committed to seeing that those responsible for the losses you have suffered are held fully accountable.

Give us a call at 800-732-2889. Let’s discuss your case and see what we can do to help you get the compensation you need and deserve.

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Robert Wayne Pearce

Robert Wayne Pearce of The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. has been a trial attorney for more than 40 years and has helped recover over $170 million dollars for his clients. During that time, he developed a well-respected and highly accomplished legal career representing investors and brokers in disputes with one another and the government and industry regulators. To speak with Attorney Pearce, call (800) 732-2889 or Contact Us online for a FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION with Attorney Pearce about your case.

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