If you have lost money investing David Zier or Zier Asset Management, you may be able to recover your losses through FINRA arbitration or securities litigation.
According to news reports, David R. Zier (CRD# 4338774) – who was the CEO and a leading financial advisor at Potomac, Maryland based Convergent Wealth Advisors, recently committed suicide after coming under scrutiny by Convergent for irregularities in an investment fund that Zier had been managing outside and away from Convergent – Zier Asset Management. According to reports, Zier Asset Management (also known as ZAM, LLC) was a self-custodied fund with less than $20 million in assets under management. Zier Asset Management allegedly engaged in short-term trading in stocks, options, and commodities for some of David Zier’s friends and family.
Irregularities Zier Asset Management’s trading records allegedly came to light when Convergent began looking into apparent trading discrepancies at Zier Asset Management (ZAM, LLC). Sources close to the situation suggest that David Zier may have been trading in securities not approved for sale by Convergent or may have failed to accurately report losses, or both. The SEC, FBI and the Louisa County sheriff's office have requested these trading records to review if any violations of state or federal law occurred. In an unfortunate turn of events, on October 15th David Zier was found dead in his home of what appears to be a suicide.
Early reports still have not indicated whether or not David Zier was operating Zier Asset Management (ZAM, LLC) with the approval City National Securities, Inc. - the brokerage firm David Zier was registered with since July 2007. Brokers are generally prohibited from engaging in private securities transactions with firm customers without the prior written approval. In this case, without disclosure and approval, David Zier may not have been allowed to run Zier Asset Management or divert firm customers into this fund.
Stockbroker’s engaged in selling or recommending securities that are not approved by the firm is commonly referred to in the securities industry as “selling away”. "Selling away" describes the situation where a financial advisor or broker recommends securities or investments that are not approved for sale by the brokerage firm and not on the brokerage firm’s approved product list. The brokerage firm’s approved product list identifies the types of securities and investments that are approved for brokers to sell after the securities have been subjected to the brokerage firm’s due diligence process which includes receiving the necessary risk and compliance department reviews and approvals.
Even if Zier Asset Management (ZAM, LLC) was a security that was approved by City National Securities for sale to its customers (and David Zier’s clients), brokerage firms still have a regulatory duty to supervise its brokers like David Zier and the transaction itself to ensure that securities like Zier Asset Management are suitable for the firm customers. Brokerage firms may be held liable for “selling away” if investors suffer losses in those outside investments.
If you have suffered investment losses investing with David Zier or in Zier Asset Management (ZAM, LLC), or to simply learn more about the FINRA arbitration process, 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.
