Concourse Financial Group Securities, Inc. F/K/A ProEquities, Inc. (CRD# 15708) has faced numerous regulatory complaints from FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority), state regulators, and investors. If you’ve lost money due to misconduct at Concourse Financial/ProEquities, you have legal options. At the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, we have investigated this firm’s regulatory history and customer complaints, and we have represented investors with claims of fraud, negligence, and breach of fiduciary duty against this organization and its financial advisors.
Victims of Concourse Financial/ProEquities misconduct can pursue recovery through FINRA arbitration, even if they signed agreements that appear to prevent lawsuits. The firm’s documented supervisory failures and regulatory violations provide strong grounds for investor claims. Many customers have successfully recovered losses by filing arbitration claims against this broker-dealer for unsuitable investments, excessive fees, and failure to supervise. Time is critical because FINRA imposes strict deadlines for filing claims, so investors who suspect misconduct should not delay in seeking legal counsel.
Our firm has extensive experience handling cases against independent broker-dealers like Concourse Financial/ProEquities. We understand how their business model creates opportunities for advisor misconduct and supervisory lapses. If you’ve experienced losses at this firm, a thorough review of your account history may reveal violations that entitle you to compensation.
Can I Sue Concourse Financial Group Securities, Inc. F/K/A ProEquities, Inc.?
If you’ve lost money caused by Concourse Financial/ProEquities and/or its employees’ misconduct then the answer is, YES, you can sue Concourse Financial 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 45 years of personal experience in FINRA arbitration proceedings and knows very well how you can not only sue Concourse Financial/ProEquities in FINRA arbitration proceedings, but WIN that arbitration.
How to Sue Concourse Financial Group Securities, Inc. F/K/A ProEquities, Inc. for Investment Losses
What Can I Do If I Lost Money at Concourse Financial Group Securities, Inc. F/K/A ProEquities, Inc.?
If you lost money at Concourse Financial/ProEquities, you can file a claim through FINRA arbitration to recover your losses. FINRA arbitration is a formal dispute resolution process where investors present evidence of misconduct to a panel of arbitrators who make binding decisions. Most brokerage agreements require arbitration instead of court litigation, but this process can be equally effective for recovering investment losses. The arbitration typically involves filing a Statement of Claim that details the misconduct, exchanging evidence with the broker-dealer, and presenting your case at a hearing.
Concourse Financial/ProEquities has a documented history of supervisory failures, including SEC sanctions for undisclosed conflicts of interest, FINRA fines for mutual fund sales charge abuses, and repeated violations of supervisory rules. These regulatory problems suggest systemic issues that may have affected your investments. If your advisor recommended unsuitable investments, charged excessive fees, or failed to disclose conflicts of interest, these violations mirror the firm’s regulatory history and strengthen your arbitration claim.
Even if you signed an arbitration agreement, you retain the right to pursue claims for fraud, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and other forms of misconduct. The arbitration clause does not waive your right to compensation—it only determines the forum where you seek that compensation. Many investors successfully recover losses through FINRA arbitration, and the process is often faster and less expensive than court litigation.
Who Can Help Me Sue Concourse Financial Group Securities, Inc. F/K/A ProEquities, Inc.?
An experienced securities attorney can help you sue Concourse Financial/ProEquities by preparing your FINRA arbitration claim, gathering evidence of misconduct, and representing you throughout the arbitration process. Our firm has handled numerous cases against independent broker-dealers with similar supervisory problems and regulatory violations. We understand how Concourse Financial/ProEquities operates, the types of misconduct that occur at these firms, and how to build compelling cases that demonstrate the harm you suffered.
What is Concourse Financial Group Securities, Inc. F/K/A ProEquities, Inc.?
Concourse Financial Group Securities, Inc. (CRD# 15708) has been registered with the SEC and FINRA as a broker dealer since 1984. The company recently changed its name, perhaps to distance itself from the numerous regulatory complaints filed against the firm under its former name, ProEquities, Inc. The company is controlled by the Protective Life Corporation and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama 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 500 Concourse Financial/ProEquities branch offices with over 1000 registered representatives in every state. It is now one of the 50 largest independent broker-dealer and investment advisory firms in the United States.
Why Does Concourse Financial Group Securities, Inc. F/K/A ProEquities, Inc. Have So Many Bad Reviews and Customer Complaints?
Concourse Financial/ProEquities receives numerous customer complaints because of how independent broker-dealers operate. These firms use a franchise-style business model where financial advisors work in small, often one or two-person offices scattered across the country. Unlike traditional brokerage firms with on-site managers, these advisors operate independently with minimal day-to-day oversight.
The supervisors at Offices of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJs) typically monitor these branch offices remotely and often run their own separate businesses. This means they cannot effectively supervise the daily operations of registered representatives. There is no immediate review of new accounts, securities transactions, or client correspondence at these independent offices. This lack of oversight creates opportunities for advisors to recommend unsuitable investments, forge signatures, or misrepresent clients’ financial situations without detection.
Many of these offices receive only one compliance audit per year, which allows misconduct to continue undetected for extended periods. The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) has documented more instances of sales abuse and investor losses at independent broker-dealers than at traditional firms with on-site supervision. This structural problem explains why Concourse Financial/ProEquities faces so many customer complaints and regulatory actions.
Concourse Financial Group Securities, Inc. F/K/A ProEquities, Inc. Has Many Different Regulatory Problems
Concourse Financial/ProEquities’ rapid growth has not been without consequences. There have been approximately 64 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 Concourse Financial/ProEquities 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. Concourse Financial/ProEquities is a repeat offender: there are over 7 SEC and FINRA reported disciplinary proceedings citing the firm with one form of supervisory lapses.
A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SOME OF THE REGULATORY PROBLEMS CONCOURSE FINANCIAL GROUP SECURITIES, INC. F/K/A PROEQUITIES, INC. HAS FACED OVER THE YEARS
Concourse Financial/ProEquities has been repeatedly censured, warned, and fined and ordered to pay millions dollars 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:
SEC Orders Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities To Pay Investors Over $1.8 Million
The SEC investigated Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities and discovered multiple breaches of fiduciary duty and inadequate disclosures by registered investment adviser Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities in connection with its mutual fund share class selection practices and the fees it and its associated persons received pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“12b-1 fees”). At times during the relevant period, Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities purchased, recommended, or held for advisory clients mutual fund share classes that charged 12b-1 fees instead of lower-cost share classes of the same funds for which the clients were eligible. Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities and its associated persons received 12b-1 fees in connection with these investments. Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities failed to disclose in its Form ADV or otherwise the conflicts of interest related to (a) its receipt of 12b-1 fees, and/or (b) its selection of mutual fund share classes that pay such fees. During the relevant period, Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities and its associated persons received 12b-1 fees for advising clients to invest in or hold such mutual fund share classes. As a result, the SEC ordered Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities cease-and-desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Sections 206(2) and 207 of the Advisers Act, censured the investment adviser, and ordered it to pay $1,852,383.10 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest to investors.
FINRA Sanctions Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities For Mutual Fund Abuse
FINRA launched an investigation and uncovered the fact that Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities disadvantaged certain retirement plan and charitable organization customers that were eligible to purchase Class A shares it certain mutual funds without a frontend sales charge (“Eligible Customers”). These Eligible Customers were instead sold Class A shares with a front-end sales charge or Class B or C shares with back-end sales charges and higher ongoing fees and expenses. During this period, Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system and procedures reasonably designed to ensure that Eligible Customers who purchased mutual fund shares received the benefit of applicable sales charge waivers. As a result, FINRA concluded that Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities violated NASD Conduct Rule 3010, FINRA Rule 3110, and MIRA Rule 2010. As a result of that misconduct, FINRA sanctioned Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities by imposing a censure, ordering remediation and restitution to the Eligible Customers who did not receive the applicable mutual fund sales charge waivers.
FINRA Sanctions Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities For Lax Supervision
FINRA investigated Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities and discovered multiple supervisory rule violations. First, it found that Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities failed to establish, maintain, and enforce adequate written procedures to supervise sales of non-traditional exchange-traded funds, in violation of NASD Conduct Rules 3010(b) and 2110 and FINRA Rule 2010. In addition, Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities failed to establish, maintain, and enforce written procedures to supervise the creation and dissemination of consolidated reports, in violation of NASD Conduct Rules 3010, subparts (b) and (d)(2), and 2110 and FINRA Rule 2010. Also, that Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities failed to enforce its written procedures relating to the supervision of registered persons conducting investment-advisory business through an independent registered investment adviser (“RIA”), in violation of NASD Conduct Rules 3010(d) and 3040(c) and FINRA Rule 2010. Moreover, Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities failed to enforce certain provisions of its written procedures relating to the supervision of sales of variable annuities and 1035-exchange transactions, in violation of NASD Conduct Rule 3010(b) and FINRA Rules 2330(d) and 2010. Finally, it found that Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities violated NASD Conduct Rule 3010(b) and FINRA Rules 2330(d) and 2010 by maintaining written procedures relating to the supervision of sales of variable annuities that identified, but did not sufficiently address, particular factors to be considered in assessing the suitability of a recommendation to buy or sell, in whole or in part, a variable annuity. I was standing all of those supervisory failures, FINRA only censured and fined the broker-dealer, $200,000.
FINRA Sanctions Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities For UIT Sales Abuse
During the course of another FINRA audit, its examiners discovered Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities failed to apply sales charge discounts to certain customers’ eligible purchases of unit investment trusts (”U?Ts”) in violation of FINRA Rule 2010. In addition, they found Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities failed to establish, maintain and enforce a supervisory system and written supervisory procedures reasonably designed to ensure that customers received sales charge discounts on all eligible UIT purchases in violation of NASD Conduct Rule 3010 and FINRA Rule 2010. As a result, FINRA censured and fined Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities $165,000 and ordered it to make restitution to its customers in the amount of $109,709.
FINRA Sanctions Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities For Cheating Investors Out Of Mutual Fund Share Breakpoint Discounts
FINRA investigated Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities and discovered that the firm failed to promptly review any customer inquiries concerning the availability of applicable breakpoint discounts. In fact, it failed to promptly respond to customer inquiries in approximately 1,115 instances. Not only did it fail to promptly respond to those customer inquiries, but it failed to provide timely refunds to those customers who were cheated out of mutual fund share breakpoint discounts. FINRA concluded Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities violated NASD Conduct Rule 2110 and imposed the sanction of a censure and a fine in the amount of $25,000 on the brokerage firm.
*Above are only some of the regulatory disciplinary actions filed against Concourse Financial Group F/K/A ProEquities by FINRA. There are at least 57 more SEC, FINRA, NASSA, and/or state securities regulator investigations and enforcement actions reported on BrokerCheck as regulatory disciplinary proceeding disclosures.
Did Concourse Financial Group Securities, Inc. F/K/A ProEquities, Inc. 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. Concourse Financial/ProEquities 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 Concourse Financial/ProEquities 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.
or, give us a ring at (800) 732-2889.
Consult With An Attorney Who Recovers Investment Losses Caused By Concourse Financial Group Securities, Inc. F/K/A ProEquities, Inc. Today
The securities attorneys at The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., have helped countless investors over the last 45 years recover the losses from their investment accounts that were caused by broker negligence or misconduct. The firm has extensive experience with Concourse Financial/ProEquities 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.
