FSC Securities Corporation (CRD#: 7461) 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 a wide variety of FSC Securities Corporation 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 been the victim of investment misconduct at FSC Securities Corporation, you have legal options to recover your losses. Many investors don’t realize they can pursue claims against FSC Securities Corporation through FINRA arbitration, even if they signed arbitration agreements that prevent traditional lawsuits. The systematic regulatory violations and supervisory failures documented at this firm have resulted in substantial investor losses that may entitle you to compensation.
Time is critical when filing investment fraud claims. Statutes of limitations and FINRA eligibility rules mean you must act promptly to preserve your rights. The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., offers free consultations to evaluate your case and explain your legal options.
Don’t wait until it’s too late to file a claim. Contact us today to discuss your case and see what we can do to help you get the compensation you need and deserve.
Can I Sue FSC Securities Corporation?
Yes, you can sue FSC Securities Corporation if you’ve lost money caused by FSC Securities Corporation and/or its employees’ misconduct. However, 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 extensive personal experience in FINRA arbitration proceedings and knows very well how you can not only sue FSC Securities Corporation in FINRA arbitration proceedings, but WIN that arbitration.
How to Sue FSC Securities Corporation for Investment Losses
What Can I Do If I Lost Money at FSC Securities Corporation?
If you lost money at FSC Securities Corporation, you can file a claim through FINRA arbitration, which is the primary method for resolving disputes between investors and brokerage firms. FINRA arbitration is a formal legal proceeding that functions similarly to a court trial but typically moves faster and costs less than traditional litigation. Most investors have unknowingly signed arbitration agreements when opening their accounts, which means they must use this process rather than filing a lawsuit in court.
The documented regulatory violations at FSC Securities Corporation—including failures to supervise representatives, unsuitable product sales, and systematic compliance lapses—provide strong evidence that may support your claim. These aren’t isolated incidents; they represent patterns of misconduct that FINRA has repeatedly sanctioned. When a brokerage firm fails to establish reasonable supervisory controls, as FSC Securities Corporation has done according to multiple FINRA findings, investors who suffer losses as a result have valid grounds to pursue compensation.
To initiate a claim, you’ll need to file a Statement of Claim with FINRA within the applicable statute of limitations (typically six years from the incident). This document outlines your allegations, the damages you suffered, and the legal basis for your claim. The arbitration process includes discovery (exchanging documents and information), pre-hearing conferences, and ultimately a hearing where arbitrators review evidence and testimony before issuing a binding decision.
Who Can Help Me Sue FSC Securities Corporation?
The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. specializes in representing investors who have suffered losses due to broker misconduct at firms like FSC Securities Corporation. Our firm has handled numerous cases involving the specific types of violations that plague FSC Securities Corporation: failure to supervise, unsuitable investment recommendations, mutual fund breakpoint violations, and sales of complex products without adequate disclosure. We understand how independent broker-dealers like FSC Securities Corporation operate, how their lax supervisory systems create opportunities for misconduct, and how to prove that these failures directly caused your investment losses.
When you work with our firm, we handle every aspect of your FINRA arbitration claim: preparing the Statement of Claim, conducting discovery, selecting arbitrators, preparing witnesses, and presenting your case at the hearing. We work on a contingency fee basis in most cases, which means you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. This arrangement allows investors to pursue legitimate claims without worrying about upfront legal costs.
What is FSC Securities Corporation?
The formation of FSC Securities Corporation was in 1957. The company is controlled by the Advisor Group, Inc. and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. 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 600 branch offices with over 1400 registered representatives in every state. It is now affiliated with one of the largest broker-dealer and investment advisory firm organizations in the United States.
Why Does FSC Securities Corporation Have So Many Bad Reviews And Customer Complaints?
FSC Securities Corporation’s business model creates conditions that lead to investor losses and customer complaints. Independent broker-dealers operate as franchise-type operations, opening many offices nationwide to generate steady monthly revenues without paying for full-service branch offices with on-site managers and compliance officers. The registered representatives at these firms are not employees—they run separately incorporated businesses, which means they’re not supervised the same way employees at traditional brokerage firms are supervised.
The typical supervision structure involves independent contractors who manage Offices of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJs) from remote locations. These OSJ managers aren’t devoted full-time supervisors; they run their own businesses and can’t monitor day-to-day operations at the branch offices they’re supposed to oversee. This creates significant gaps: there’s often no immediate review of new accounts, securities transactions, business records, cash receipts, correspondence, or activities unrelated to securities brokerage.
This lax supervision leaves investors vulnerable to sales representatives who make unsuitable recommendations without anyone reviewing or authorizing those trades. There may be no one on-site to detect forged signatures, inaccurate information about clients’ financial conditions, or misrepresentations in sales materials. Many offices receive only one compliance audit visit per year, which is insufficient to catch ongoing problems.
The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) has documented more instances of sales abuse and investor losses at independent broker-dealers like FSC Securities Corporation than at traditional brokerage firms with proper on-site supervision. The business model prioritizes growth and profit margins over investor protection, which is why regulatory problems and customer complaints are so prevalent at these firms.
FSC Securities Corporation has Many Different Regulatory Problems
FSC Securities Corporation rapid growth has not been without consequences. There have been approximately 28 Federal, state and self-regulatory body disclosure events; that is, 28 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 FSC Securities Corporation 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. FSC Securities Corporation is a repeat offender: there are over 28 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 FSC SECURITIES CORPORATION HAS FACED OVER THE YEARS*
FSC Securities Corporation has been repeatedly censured, warned, and fined thousands of dollars for its own misconduct and failure to supervise its army of financial advisors. A few of the notable FINRA disciplinary proceedings sanctioning FSC Securities Corporation for its supervisory failures are below:
FSC Securities Corporation Censured And Fined For FINRA Rule Violations Related To Its Failure To Identify And Apply Available Sales Charge Waivers To Customers
FINRA found that during the relevant period FSC Securities Corporation cheated certain retirement plan and charitable organization customers that were eligible to purchase Class A shares in certain mutual funds without a front-end 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, FSC 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, FSC violated NASD Conduct Rule 3010, FINRA Rule 3110, and FINRA Rule 2010. In addition to the Censure and Fine, the firm was ordered to submit a detailed plan to remediate Eligible Customers and compensate them for the damages they suffered related to the applicable mutual fund sales charge waivers that they were entitled to when they purchased shares in the funds.
FSC Securities Corporation Censured And Fined For FINRA Rule Violations Related To Multi-Share Class Variable Annuities Sales
FSC Securities Corporation failed to establish, maintain and enforce a supervisory system and written procedures designed to reasonably supervise representatives’ sale of multi-share class variable annuities and failed to provide training to their representatives and principals on the sale and supervision of multi-share class variable annuities. For example, the Firms’ procedures did not specifically address the suitability issues related to the different surrender periods, fees and costs of the different variable annuity share classes. Similarly, the Firm’s procedures did not specifically address the suitability concerns raised by the sale of an L-share contract when combined with a long-term income rider or to a customer with a long-term investment time horizon. As a result, the FSC Securities Corporation violated FINRA Rules 2330(d) and (e), F1NRA Rule 3110, and FINRA Rule 2010.
FSC Securities Corporation Censured And Fined For FINRA Rule Violations Related To Third Party Distributions From Customer Accounts
During the relevant period, a registered representative associated with FSC Securities Corporation sold memberships in PFG LLC (the “PFG fund”), an investment fund created by a former FSC Securities Corporation representative. In connection with his sale of the PFG fund memberships the registered representative submitted to FSC Securities Corporation, letters of authorization signed by 15 customers to transfer over $1.6 million from their brokerage accounts to a bank account controlled by the PFG fund. The PFG fund ultimately lost millions of dollars through speculative trading and other investments which the manager covered up by creating false account statements that fraudulently reflected fictitious assets and investment returns.
FINRA found that during the relevant period, FSC Securities Corporation failed to establish and maintain reasonable supervisory controls and procedures to monitor customers’ accounts with respect to patterns involving multiple transmittals of funds from customers’ accounts to the same third-party payee and to supervise these outside investments. As a result, FINRA found that FSC Securities Corporation violated NASD Conduct Rules 3010 and 3012 and FINRA Rule 2010.
FSC Securities Corporation Censured And Fined For FINRA Rule Violations Related To Non-Traditional ETFs
During the relevant period, FSC Securities Corporation offered and sold thousands of leveraged, or inverse, or both inverse and leveraged Exchange-Traded Funds (collectively, “Non-Traditional ETFs”) in approximately 1,400 retail customer accounts. Those purchases were worth approximately $92 million and generated approximately $603,000 in commissions.
FINRA sanctioned FSC Securities Corporation because it failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system, including written procedures, reasonably designed to ensure that the Firm’s offering of Non-Traditional ETFs complied with NASD and FINRA rules. Non-Traditional ETFs have certain risks that are not associated with traditional ETFs or equities. The Firm’s general supervisory system was not sufficiently tailored to address the unique features and risks involved with these products. Based on the foregoing, FSC violated NASD Rule 3010(a) and (b) and FINRA Rule 2010.
Also, during the Relevant Period, FSC Securities Corporation, by and through its registered representatives, recommended Non-Traditional ETFs to customers without fully understanding the features and risks associated with those products. FSC allowed its registered representatives to make unsuitable recommendations of Non-Traditional EIFs to many customers with conservative and moderate investment objectives and risk tolerances, some of whom were elderly. Moreover, many of those customers held the investments over extended periods of time and sustained losses of $492,485. Based on the foregoing, FSC violated NASD Rule 2310 and FINRA Rules 2111 and 2010 and in addition to the Censure and fine, was ordered to pay that amount in restitution to the customers.
FSC Securities Corporation Censured And Fined For Mutual Fund Breakpoint Violations
During the relevant period, FINRA issued Notice to Members 03-47, which, in providing guidance to firms on the capital treatment of breakpoint refunds issued through the Self-Assessment and Trade-by-Trade Review processes, informed firms that FINRA expected that refunds would be made to customers expeditiously. This matter grows out of a national examination that FINRA began conducting in 2005 (the Breakpoint Self-Assessment Follow-Up Review). The primary purpose of the Breakpoint Self-Assessment Follow-Up Review was to verify compliance with the instructions for the Self-Assessment and Trade-by-Trade Review and to assess whether firms timely and accurately completed remedial steps that FINRA required. The Breakpoint Self-Assessment Follow-Up Review also sampled firms’ efforts to assure that customers received breakpoint discounts on an ongoing basis.
The Breakpoint Self-Assessment Follow-Up Review conducted for FSC Securities Corporation found that the firm failed to accurately complete the Self-Assessment and failed to timely refund customers after the Self-Assessment, as discussed below. By reason of the foregoing, FSC Securities Corporation violated NASD Conduct Rule 2110.
*Above are only some of the regulatory disciplinary actions filed against FSC Securities Corporation by FINRA. NASSA and other state securities regulator investigations and enforcement actions account for another twenty-three BrokerCheck disclosures.
How to File an Official Complaint Against FSC Securities Corporation or One of Its Brokers with FINRA
If you believe your FSC Securities Corporation financial advisor engaged in misconduct, you can file a formal complaint with FINRA. The first step is to gather documentation of your losses, including account statements, trade confirmations, and any communications with your advisor. You should also document the specific misconduct you experienced, whether it was unsuitable recommendations, unauthorized trading, misrepresentations, or other violations.
FINRA maintains an online complaint form on its website where you can submit details about your experience. You’ll need to provide information about the brokerage firm, the registered representative involved, the nature of the misconduct, and the losses you suffered. FINRA will review your complaint and may forward it to the firm for investigation. However, filing a complaint with FINRA is separate from pursuing compensation through arbitration.
To actually recover your losses, you’ll need to file a Statement of Claim initiating a FINRA arbitration proceeding against FSC Securities Corporation. This is a more formal legal process that requires careful preparation and strong evidence to support your allegations. Most investors benefit from having an experienced securities attorney handle this process because arbitration has specific procedural rules, deadlines, and evidentiary requirements that can affect the outcome of your case.
How The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. Can Help You Recover Losses at FSC Securities Corporation
The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. provides comprehensive representation throughout the entire complaint and arbitration process. We begin with a thorough case evaluation during your free consultation, analyzing your account records and identifying the specific violations that occurred. We then prepare and file a detailed Statement of Claim that clearly articulates your allegations, documents the regulatory violations at FSC Securities Corporation that relate to your case, and quantifies your damages.
Throughout the arbitration process, we handle all aspects of your case: conducting discovery to obtain evidence from FSC Securities Corporation, selecting qualified arbitrators, preparing expert witnesses, and presenting compelling arguments at the hearing. Our firm’s track record demonstrates our ability to hold firms like FSC Securities Corporation accountable for the losses they cause investors.
Attorney Pearce offers free consultations to investors who have suffered losses at FSC Securities Corporation. During this consultation, we’ll review your situation, explain your legal options, and provide honest advice about the strength of your potential claim. Contact us to discuss your case and learn how we can help you pursue the compensation you deserve.
Did FSC Securities Corporation 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. FSC Securities Corporation 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 FSC Securities Corporation without representation with an attorney about their complaints and have their complaints denied.
Related Read: Can You Sue Your Brokerage Firm?
Consult With An Attorney Who Recovers Investment Losses Caused By FSC Securities Corporation Today
The securities lawyers 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 FSC Securities Corporation cases, and Attorney Pearce is committed to seeing that those responsible for the losses you have suffered are held fully accountable. The firm has recovered over $175 million for investors nationwide who were victims of securities fraud and misconduct.
Give us a call at 866-660-6508. Let’s discuss your case and see what we can do to help you get the compensation you need and deserve.
