Truist Investment Services, Inc. (“Truist Investment Services“) (CRD#17499) has faced regulatory proceedings, arbitration matters, and investor complaints involving its brokerage and investment-advisory operations.
At the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., we have investigated Truist Investment Services’ regulatory history and represented investors pursuing claims involving fraud, negligence and breach of fiduciary duty, unsuitable recommendations, supervisory failures, and other securities misconduct.
If you lost money because of misconduct involving a Truist financial advisor or broker, an experienced investment fraud lawyer can investigate your account and explain your potential recovery options.
Investors should act promptly because securities claims and FINRA arbitration proceedings are subject to eligibility requirements and legal deadlines.
Can I Sue Truist Investment Services?
Yes. You may be able to pursue a claim against Truist Investment Services if actionable misconduct by the firm or one of its financial professionals caused your investment losses.
Many brokerage agreements require customer disputes to be resolved through FINRA rather than traditional court litigation.
An experienced FINRA arbitration lawyer can review your account activity, investigate the recommendations and representations made to you, calculate potential damages, prepare a Statement of Claim, conduct discovery, and represent you before an arbitration panel.
An arbitration agreement generally determines where the dispute will be resolved; it does not necessarily eliminate an investor’s right to seek compensation.
How to Sue Truist Investment Services for Investment Losses
What Can I Do If I Lost Money at Truist Investment Services?
The first step is determining whether your losses resulted from ordinary market activity or potentially actionable conduct by a broker, advisor, or brokerage firm.
Depending on the facts, potential claims may involve:
- Unsuitable investment recommendations
- Churning or excessive trading
- Misrepresentations or omissions concerning investment risks
- Undisclosed conflicts of interest
- Excessive or improperly calculated fees
- Inappropriate use of margin
- Negligence or breach of fiduciary duty
- Brokerage-firm supervisory failures
Truist Investment Services’ regulatory history includes matters concerning non-traditional ETFs, investment-advisory fees, auction-rate securities, UITs, closed-end funds, margin transactions, fee-based accounts, and supervisory systems.
Those regulatory matters may provide relevant context when investigating an individual investor’s account, but a disciplinary action against the firm does not automatically establish that a particular customer is entitled to compensation.
Who Can Help Me Sue Truist Investment Services?
Securities disputes can require detailed analysis of brokerage statements, transaction histories, fees, investment recommendations, communications, disclosure documents, and supervisory records.
An attorney experienced in broker-dealer misconduct can investigate whether a Truist financial professional or the brokerage firm itself violated obligations owed to an investor and whether that conduct caused compensable losses.
The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. represents investors nationwide in FINRA arbitration and other securities disputes.
What is Truist Investment Services?
Truist Investment Services (CRD#17499) is a registered broker-dealer and investment adviser.
Its current FINRA-listed main office is located at 303 Peachtree Street, 2nd Floor, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
Truist Investment Services is controlled by Truist Financial Corporation, whose corporate headquarters are in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Investors throughout the state who believe they suffered losses because of broker or financial-advisor misconduct can review resources from a North Carolina investment fraud lawyer concerning their potential recovery options.
Brokerage firms operating large networks of financial professionals have significant supervisory responsibilities.
Firms are expected to establish and enforce supervisory systems reasonably designed to address matters such as:
- Investment recommendations
- Customer risk profiles
- Trading activity
- Fees and commissions
- Margin use
- Product-specific risks
- Customer communications
- Conflicts of interest
- Account activity
- Customer complaints
When a brokerage firm fails to respond appropriately to warning signs or maintain adequate supervisory systems, investor losses may result.
Where inadequate oversight contributes to financial harm, a potential failure to supervise claim may warrant investigation.
Truist Investment Services Has Many Different Regulatory Problems
FINRA Sanctions Truist for Supervision of Non-Traditional ETFs
FINRA previously found that Truist Investment Services failed to establish, maintain, and enforce a supervisory system reasonably designed to address suitability concerns involving non-traditional exchange-traded funds.
The regulatory findings addressed risks associated with holding certain non-traditional ETFs for extended periods and deficiencies in procedures for reviewing whether those positions were appropriate for particular customers.
FINRA reported customer losses of more than $584,000 associated with the matter and imposed sanctions on the firm.
FINRA Sanctions Truist Over Investment-Advisory Fee Overcharges
FINRA also found deficiencies in Truist Investment Services’ systems for monitoring investment-advisory fees.
According to the findings, nearly 1,000 client accounts were overcharged after software used to calculate certain breakpoint discounts failed to properly bundle eligible assets.
The problem continued for approximately two and a half years before being identified.
Affected clients were reimbursed approximately $421,743 plus interest, and FINRA imposed an additional fine.
FINRA Action Involving Auction-Rate Securities
Truist Investment Services also faced regulatory action involving communications and supervision concerning auction-rate securities.
FINRA found that certain materials did not adequately explain significant risks, including the possibility of failed auctions, loss of liquidity, and investors being unable to access their funds for substantial periods.
The firm was censured and fined $400,000.
FINRA Action Involving UITs, Closed-End Funds, and Margin
Another FINRA matter involved allegations concerning short-term transactions in unit investment trusts, closed-end funds, and mutual funds in accounts belonging to elderly and less-experienced investors.
The findings also involved transactions using margin and alleged deficiencies in the disclosure of risks and costs associated with borrowed funds.
FINRA identified red flags involving short-term trading, concentration, and margin use and imposed a $900,000 fine.
FINRA Action Involving Fee-Based Accounts
FINRA also investigated Truist Investment Services’ supervision of fee-based brokerage accounts.
The regulator found that the firm opened thousands of such accounts without adequately assessing whether they were appropriate for customers and failed to sufficiently monitor whether the accounts continued to make economic sense.
Some customers were charged ongoing fees despite extended periods of little or no trading.
The firm was censured and fined $700,000.
*Above are only some of the regulatory disciplinary actions filed against Truist Investment Services by FINRA. NASAA and other state securities regulator investigations and enforcement actions account for another 7 BrokerCheck disclosures.
How to File an Official Complaint Against Truist Investment Services or One of Its Brokers with FINRA
Investors who believe they suffered losses because of fraud, negligence, unsuitable recommendations, excessive trading, conflicts of interest, supervisory failures, or other securities misconduct may have several options.
Filing a regulatory complaint with FINRA can notify the regulator of potentially improper conduct. However, a regulatory complaint is different from an arbitration claim seeking monetary damages.
Investors seeking compensation generally must separately pursue FINRA arbitration or another available legal remedy.
How The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. Can Help You Recover Losses at Truist Investment Services
The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce assists investors throughout the entire FINRA arbitration process. We begin with a comprehensive case evaluation during your free consultation to determine the strength of your claim and the potential for recovery. We then handle every aspect of the arbitration—from drafting the Statement of Claim to conducting discovery, selecting arbitrators, preparing witnesses, and presenting your case at the hearing.
Our firm understands the specific regulatory failures and supervisory lapses at independent broker-dealers like Truist Investment Services, and we know how to connect these institutional problems to the harm you suffered. We have successfully represented numerous investors in cases involving unsuitable investments, churning, failure to supervise, and other forms of broker misconduct.
Attorney Pearce brings unique insight to these cases, drawing on decades of experience to build compelling arguments and cross-examine opposing witnesses effectively. We work on a contingency fee basis in most cases, which means you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your case and explore your legal options.
Did Truist Investment Services Advisor Misconduct Cause You Investment Losses?
If you suffered substantial losses involving a Truist financial professional, warning signs that may warrant further investigation include:
- Investments inconsistent with your stated objectives
- Recommendations exceeding your risk tolerance
- Frequent short-term trading
- Unexplained or excessive fees
- Use of margin you did not fully understand
- Misleading descriptions of investment risks
- Concentrated positions
- Account activity you did not expect
Investors should preserve account statements, transaction confirmations, emails, text messages, investment documents, and notes concerning discussions with their financial professionals.
Truist has a substantial presence throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Investors in neighboring jurisdictions can also review resources from a Virginia investment fraud lawyer or Maryland investment fraud lawyer regarding potential securities claims
Related Read: Can You Sue Your Brokerage Firm?
Consult With An Attorney Who Recovers Investment Losses Caused By Truist Investment Services Today
The investment fraud lawyers at the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. represent investors seeking to recover losses caused by broker fraud, negligence, breaches of fiduciary duty, unsuitable recommendations, excessive trading, supervisory failures, conflicts of interest, and other securities misconduct.
If you believe Truist Investment Services or one of its financial professionals caused your investment losses, contact the firm for a free case evaluation.
