Kurt Gunter, with Stifel Nicolaus, Suspended Three Months from Securities Industry
Have you lost money with financial advisor Kurt Jason Gunter of Austin, Texas? We are investigating allegations made by FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, against Kurt Gunter. FINRA suspended Gunter from the securities industry for three months and fined him $10,000 after he was alleged to have engaged in short-term trading of Unit Investment Trusts (or UITs) in customer accounts.
UITs are not designed for short-term trading because of their commissions and costs of trading. Between July 2013 and December 2016, Kurt Gunter recommended on 120 occasions that his customers sell their UITs before maturity and then purchase a subsequent series of the same UIT. FINRA alleged this to be unsuitable in view of the frequency and costs of trading, which can be as high as 3.95%.
Kurt Gunter was a financial advisor and registered representative of Stifel Nicolaus from June 2013 to August 2017. He has been with Wells Fargo since August 2017. He worked at branch offices in Austin, Texas.
Brokerage firms like Stifel Nicolaus have a responsibility to adequately supervise all representatives who are registered through their firm. Brokerage firms also must take steps to ensure that their financial advisors follow all securities rules and regulations, as well as internal firm policies. When brokerage firms fail to adequately supervise their registered representatives, they may be liable for investment losses sustained by customers.
Israels & Neuman PLC is a securities and investment fraud law firm with offices in Denver, Colorado; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Phoenix, Arizona; and Seattle, Washington. We represent investors in FINRA arbitration in all 50 states, including investors in Texas. Our attorneys have represented over one thousand investors against numerous firms, including against Stifel Nicolaus.