Brookstone Financial investment adviser and former Center Street Securities broker Seth Barnes Stewart in Jeffersonville, Indiana, is the subject of three customer dispute disclosures on the allegation unsuitable investments transactions according to an investigation by lawyer Alan Rosca.
Investor rights lawyer Alan Rosca of the Rosca Scarlato LLC law firm is investigating conduct related to the three customer dispute disclosures involving former broker Seth Stewart on the allegation of the broker recommending unsuitable investments to clients.
Seth B. Stewart is currently registered with Brookstone Financial, a Registered Investment Adviser firm in Jeffresonville, Indiana. Prior to mid November 2020, Seth Stewart was in the employment of Center Street Securities and he was registered with the firm at the time the allegations were instituted against him.
Concerned about investments with
Stewart Has Customer Dispute Disclosures
The investigation of publicly-available records conducted by the investor rights lawyers at Rosca Scarlato LLC law firm show that the registered broker and investment adviser has several customer dispute disclosures making similar allegations as revealed by his FINRA Brokercheck page.
The latest customer dispute disclosure was instituted in January 2022. The customer alleged unsuitable, illiquid and high risk alternative investments and is requesting $400,000 for the alleged damages.
In February 2020 a Seth Stewart customer filed a dispute on the allegations of the unsuitability of the alternative investments. In this dispute, the client seeks to recover $200,000 in damages.
The earlier of dispute disclosures was initiated in December 2019. The dispute was initiated on similar allegations. In this case, the client alleges that alternative investments were recommended to them and the client was allegedly not aware that the investments were illiquid. In this dispute, the client seeks to recover $100,000 in damages.
About Unsuitability
Generally speaking, a broker or financial adviser often times owes a fiduciary duty to the client. This duty, among other things include the management of the clients properly to avoid losses and to make sure that the client’s investment needs are met. Client’s investment needs vary and it is the duty of every broker to take that into account when making investment recommendations.
The client’s investment needs could be to save up money for retirement, or to invest in high returns generating securities or to even have securities that can be easily converted to cash on the slightest notice. All of these investment needs are influenced by various factors including the client’s age and elderly status, their income and liquidity needs, their tax status and their risk profiles among others.
In determining which investment is suitable for each client, a broker or financial adviser is expected to conduct appropriate due diligence on the securities and investments. The due diligence will help the broker to determine whether the securities are suitable for investment at all by any investor.
After determining that, the broker will further examine the investment while putting into consideration the specific details and financial needs of his clients to determine whether the investment is suitable for that particular client. After this step, the broker will go further to determine the appropriate quantity of that investment to recommend to the client.
All of these processes go hand in hand to help the broker or investment adviser ensure that they recommend the right investments to their clients. However, where the broker or investment adviser fails to carry out the required due diligence as described above, the broker will be liable for the losses to the investors as a result of such negligence. In addition to this, the broker can be held to be further liable for other damages as will be determined in the dispute.
All these are general considerations, not necessarily applicable to any one case, and do not constitute legal advice. Investors looking for legal advice for their particular situation should contact a qualified lawyer and discuss about the facts applicable to their specific case.
Finally, it is important to note that, as of the date of this article, there has not been a finding of liability as to the complaints or allegations mentioned in this article, unless otherwise indicated. Any reader should also read the original sources hyperlinked in this blog for accuracy, including any BrokerCheck report and/or record of any disciplinary or regulatory action. Those sources are incorporated by reference into the text of this blog, and are the governing materials in case of any inconsistencies or typos in this blog.
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Securities Lawyers Investigating Potential Options on Behalf of Seth Stewart Investors
The Rosca Scarlato LLC law firm represents investors who lose money as a result of investment-related fraud or misconduct and is currently investigating conduct related to former broker Seth Stewart’s customer dispute disclosures alleging unsuitable investment recommendations.
The firm takes most cases of this type on a contingency fee basis and advances the case costs, and only gets paid for their fees and costs out of money recovered for clients. Attorney Alan Rosca, a securities lawyer and adjunct professor of securities regulation, has represented thousands of victimized investors across the country and around the world in cases ranging from arbitrations to class actions.
Investors who believe they lost money as a result of conducts related to Broker Seth Barnes Stewart’s customer dispute disclosures alleging unsuitable investment recommendation, may contact attorney Alan Rosca for a free no-obligation evaluation of their recovery options, at 888-998-0530, via email at arosca@rscounsel.law, or through the contact form on this webpage.
