NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Securities Arbitration Law Firm of Klayman & Toskes, P.A. (“K&T”), www.nasd-law.com, has opened an investigation into potential Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sales practice violations by Wells Fargo Advisors and its financial advisors for activities similar to those recently reported in The Charlotte Observer. According to reports, Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) used aggressive “cross-selling” tactics with its bank clients in order to open investment accounts through its brokerage firm, Wells Fargo Advisors. According to a former bank branch manager, new account goals had minimum sales requirements across all product lines which “became a living nightmare” for their branch to meet.
According to K&T founder, Lawrence L. Klayman, “Our investigation focuses on whether Wells Fargo Advisors had bank customers steered to open investment accounts with the brokerage firm through high pressure sales tactics motivated by contests which paid incentives to the referring employees.” Mr. Klayman continues, “Wells Fargo touted the contributions of ‘cross-selling’ to the bank’s profitability in public pronouncements to shareholders. In the pursuit of profits, investor rights may have been violated resulting in unsuitable investment recommendations.” Mr. Klayman explains, “Wells Fargo Advisors and its parent Wells Fargo bank, may have failed to supervise the ‘cross-selling’ activities of their bank employees and financial advisors and should be held responsible.”
The sole purpose of this release is to determine whether brokerage firms violated FINRA sales practice rules related to Wells Fargo Advisors “cross-selling” efforts which may include; unsuitable recommendations, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentations and omissions of material facts and a failure to supervise. Investors who have information about the sales practices of Wells Fargo Advisors and their financial advisors are encouraged to contact Lawrence L. Klayman, Esq. or Raymond Gentile, Esq. of Klayman & Toskes at (888) 997-9956, or visit our website at www.nasd-law.com.
About Klayman & Toskes, P.A.
K&T is a leading national securities law firm which practices exclusively in the field of securities arbitration and litigation, on behalf of retail and institutional investors throughout the world in large and complex securities matters. The firm represents high net-worth, ultra-high-net-worth, and institutional investors, such as non-profit organizations, unions, public and multi-employer pension funds. K&T has office locations in California, Florida, New York and Puerto Rico.
