Investors who suffered losses investing with Matthew A. Bell in various penny stocks such as Location Based Technologies (LBAS), Codesmart Holdings (ITEN), Towerstream Corporation (TWER), Evergreen Solar (ESLQR), and/or Patriot Coal Corporation (PCXCQ) may be able to recover their investment losses through FINRA arbitration or securities litigation.
Matthew A. Bell (CRD# 3091864) was a San Antonio, Texas based financial advisor who was registered with brokerage firms during his career including Raymond James and Associates (2003-2009), WFG Investments (aka Williams Financial Group, 2009-2013), and Securities America (August 2013-October 2013). In addition to Matthew Bell’s registration with Raymond James, WFG Investments and Securities America, Matthew Bell was also affiliated with Alamo Asset Advisors from 2009 to present. In June 2013, Matthew Bell was permitted to resign from WFG Investments. In October 2013, Matthew Bell was permitted to resign from Securities America for allegedly violating firm policies and procedures relating to private securities transactions.
According to his FINRA BrokerCheck CRD, Matthew Bell has been subject to 16 FINRA customer disputes. Many of the recent FINRA arbitration proceedings against Matthew Bell have been related to his sale of penny stocks to clients, such as Location Based Technologies (LBAS), Codesmart Holdings (ITEN), Towerstream Corporation (TWER), Evergreen Solar (ESLQR), and/or Patriot Coal Corporation (PCXCQ).
While all investments involve risk, penny stocks are considered to be risky (and in some cases speculative investments). Generally speaking, many penny stocks are often companies that are thinly traded on the OTC-BB, NASDAQ, or simply over the counter and lack meaningful assets, revenues, or operations. In other instances penny stocks are early stage companies that have products and services that are still in development or have yet to be tested in the market. Moreover, microcap (penny) stocks are more vulnerable to the ups and downs of the economy than larger companies, as well as the risk that pertains to stocks with low trading volume. Because many microcap (penny) stocks trade in low volumes, any size of trade can have a large percentage impact on the price of the stock.
Stockbrokers like Matthew Bell have a regulatory duty to ensure that any recommendation to purchase penny stocks is suitable for the needs of each customer. In many cases, a stockbroker’s recommendation to purchase penny stocks may be considered to be unsuitable for a retirees or elderly investors who are seeking income and/or moderate growth.
In addition to the stockbrokers individual liability for unsuitable investment recommendations, as brokerage firms have a duty to properly supervise their stockbrokers (and the transactions that they recommend to firm customers), in many cases a brokerage firm may also be held responsible for the unsuitable investment recommendations made by its stockbrokers.
If you are an investor that lost money investing in penny stocks recommended by Matthew Bell while he was affiliated with Alamo Asset Advisors (Alamo Investment Advisors), WFG Investments (Williams Financial Group), Raymond James, or Securities America, you may be able to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration. Please contact Kons Law Firm at (860) 920-5181 for a FREE, NO OBLIGATION consultation to discuss your legal rights.
Kons Law Firm represents investors nationwide in securities arbitration and litigation matters. To learn more about the Firm’s securities litigation and FINRA arbitration practice, please visit www.investmentfraudattorneys.com
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