Michael William Risko (CRD# 1975573) is a financial advisor and stockbroker currently registered with Osaic Institutions, Inc. in Hyde Park, New York. Our firm is investigating customer complaints and FINRA disclosures involving Mr. Risko’s recommendations and handling of non-traded real estate investment trust (“REIT”) transactions, including allegations of unsuitable REIT sales and processing errors that allegedly caused investors to miss redemptions and distributions.
Financial Advisor’s Career History
According to FINRA BrokerCheck, Michael William Risko has been registered in the securities industry since 1989 and is currently associated with Osaic Institutions, Inc. (CRD# 35371) in Hyde Park, New York, where he has been registered since July 1, 2016.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Risko has been registered with a number of brokerage firms, including:
- Osaic Institutions, Inc. – Hyde Park, New York (since 2016)
- Essex National Securities, LLC / Essex National Securities, Inc. – Elizabeth, New Jersey (approximately 2009–2016)
- Barclays Global Fund Advisors – New York, New York (2007–2009)
- Barclays Global Investors Services – Jersey City, New Jersey (2007–2009)
- A I M Distributors, Inc. – Houston, Texas (several periods between 1998–2007)
- Dividend Capital Securities, LLC – Denver, Colorado (2006–2007)
- Fortis Investors, Inc. – Oakdale, Minnesota (1997–1998)
- Washington Square Securities, Inc. – Windsor, Connecticut (1995–1996)
- ReliaStar Financial Marketing Corp. – Seattle, Washington (1995)
- OppenheimerFunds Distributor, Inc. – New York, New York (1991–1995)
- Invest Financial Corporation – Appleton, Wisconsin (1989–1991)
During this time, he has held multiple FINRA registrations and state licenses and passed the Series 6, 7, SIE, 63, and 66 exams.
Michael William Risko Fraud Allegations and Investor Complaints Explained
FINRA BrokerCheck reports that Michael William Risko has been the subject of multiple customer disputes, all involving real estate securities, including non-traded REITs. As of the most recent report, there are three customer disputes disclosed: two settled matters and one denied complaint.
While the existence of a customer complaint or settlement does not, by itself, prove wrongdoing, these disclosures are important for investors evaluating whether recommendations involving illiquid REITs were suitable and properly handled.
Summary of Disclosed Customer Disputes
- Customer Dispute (Denied) – Alleged Missed REIT Distribution
- Date complaint received: December 7, 2022
- Employing firm: Infinex Investments, Inc.
- Product type: Real estate security (REIT)
- Allegations: Client alleged that poor service caused the client to miss a REIT quarterly distribution.
- Alleged damages: Approximately $77,161.99 in missed distributions (no precise amount specified; firm estimated total).
- Outcome: Complaint denied with no payment to the customer; status closed as “Denied” on February 17, 2023.
- Customer Dispute (Settled Complaint) – REIT Redemption and Processing Error
- Date complaint received: January 13, 2024
- Employing firm: Infinex Investments, Inc.
- Product type: Real estate security (non-traded REIT)
- Allegations: A paperwork and processing error allegedly negated the redemption of a non-traded REIT following a client’s death for the fourth quarter of 2022. Before the redemption could be corrected, share redemptions were suspended for the first quarter of 2023 in advance of the REIT going public, allegedly leaving the client exposed to loss.
- Alleged damages: $45,420.00
- Settlement: $21,598.31 paid to resolve the complaint on June 7, 2024; individual contribution by Mr. Risko reported as $0.00.
- Customer Dispute (FINRA Arbitration – Settled) – Alleged Unsuitable REIT Sale
- Date notice/process served: June 26, 2023
- Employing firm when activity occurred: Essex National Securities, LLC
- Forum: FINRA arbitration (Docket/Case #23-01827)
- Product type: Real estate security (REIT)
- Allegations: The representative allegedly sold a REIT that was unsuitable for the client’s investment profile.
- Alleged damages: $330,000.00
- Resolution: Settled on June 4, 2024, for $50,000.00 in monetary compensation; individual contribution by Mr. Risko reported as $0.00.
Key Themes in the Allegations
- Concentration in or use of illiquid non-traded REITs as investment products
- Alleged suitability issues, including whether the REIT matched the client’s investment profile and objectives
- Alleged paperwork and processing errors that affected redemptions and distributions tied to REIT holdings
- Disputes over missed income (distributions) and liquidity events (redemptions prior to a public listing)
Investors should understand that non-traded REITs typically involve unique risks: limited liquidity, complex redemption programs, potential suspension of redemptions, and sensitivity to timing of corporate events such as going public. These characteristics can make suitability analysis and accurate processing of instructions critical to protecting investors’ interests.
As with all FINRA disclosures, some events are denied and others are settled without any admission of liability. Nonetheless, patterns involving similar products—here, multiple real estate securities and REIT-related complaints—may be signs that investors should carefully review their accounts and transaction history.
In conclusion, while the outcomes range from denied to settled, the disputes involving non-traded REITs, alleged unsuitability, and REIT-related processing errors are serious enough that investors working with Michael William Risko may wish to have an independent attorney review their losses and evaluate potential claims in FINRA arbitration.
To obtain a copy of Michael William Risko’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, visit this link
Robert Wayne Pearce Is Committed to Recovering Your Investment Losses
Nationwide Representation in FINRA REIT and Real Estate Securities Cases
The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. represents investors nationwide in FINRA arbitration and court proceedings involving non-traded REITs and other real estate securities. If you invested in REITs recommended or handled by Michael William Risko and suffered losses or missed distributions, our firm can review your account statements, trade confirmations, and correspondence to determine whether unsuitable recommendations, misrepresentations, or processing errors contributed to your damages.
Experience With Suitability, Misrepresentation, and Processing-Error Claims
Non-traded REIT cases often involve overlapping theories of liability, including unsuitable recommendations under FINRA Rule 2111, failure to disclose liquidity and distribution risks, and negligence in processing redemption or distribution requests. Our attorneys regularly analyze product-specific disclosures, offering documents, and internal firm procedures to identify where brokers and their firms fell short of industry standards and FINRA rules.
Time Limits May Apply to Your Claim
Claims in FINRA arbitration are subject to statutes of limitation and eligibility rules, including FINRA’s six-year eligibility rule measured from the date of the events giving rise to the dispute. If your REIT investment or missed redemption occurred years ago, you should act promptly to preserve your rights. A delay in investigating your claim may affect your ability to recover losses.
Our firm offers confidential, no-obligation consultations so you can understand your options before deciding how to proceed.
FINRA Rule 2111 — Suitability
FINRA Rule 2111 requires that a broker have a reasonable basis to believe a recommendation is suitable for a customer based on the customer’s investment profile, including age, financial situation, risk tolerance, liquidity needs, and investment objectives. In the arbitration involving alleged unsuitable sale of a REIT with $330,000 in claimed damages, the customer contends that the non-traded REIT did not match the client’s investment profile. When a broker concentrates a client in illiquid, non-traded REITs or fails to evaluate whether the client can tolerate the product’s liquidity and distribution risks, arbitrators may find a violation of Rule 2111’s customer-specific suitability obligation and, where the product itself is inappropriate for many retail investors, the rule’s reasonable-basis suitability requirement.
FINRA Rule 2010 — Standards of Commercial Honor and Just and Equitable Principles of Trade
FINRA Rule 2010 is a broad ethical standard requiring brokers to observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade. Even where conduct is framed as a “paperwork and processing error,” failing to timely and accurately process redemption instructions or account servicing requests for non-traded REITs, especially where redemptions are about to be suspended or limited, can place a customer at a significant disadvantage. In the settled complaint alleging that a paperwork error caused a missed REIT redemption following a client’s death—just before share redemptions were suspended in advance of the REIT going public—arbitrators or regulators evaluating similar cases may analyze whether such handling fell below the ethical standards embodied in Rule 2010, particularly if internal procedures or common-sense safeguards were not followed.
FINRA Rule 3110 — Supervision
FINRA Rule 3110 requires firms to establish and maintain a supervisory system reasonably designed to achieve compliance with applicable securities laws and FINRA rules. Multiple customer complaints involving the same adviser and the same complex product—here, real estate securities and non-traded REITs—can indicate not only potential sales practice issues but also supervisory deficiencies. Where a firm approves widespread sales of illiquid REITs, it must adopt procedures to monitor concentration levels, suitability, and the timely processing of redemptions and distribution-related paperwork. Failure to detect patterns of missed redemptions, customer disputes about distributions, or recurring REIT-related complaints may support claims that the firm violated Rule 3110 by not adequately supervising the adviser’s recommendations and servicing of REIT accounts.
For over 45 years, Robert Wayne Pearce has helped investors recover losses caused by broker fraud, negligence, and unsuitable recommendations. His firm, The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., represents clients nationwide on a no-recovery, no-fee basis. Call (800) 732-2889 or email pearce@rwpearce.com for a free case review with an experienced securities attorney.
