New York Securities Fraud Lawyers Blog
The securities fraud attorneys at Malecki Law are interested in hearing from investors who have complaints against stockbroker Michael Margiotta. Mr. Margiotta has been employed and registered since June 2015 with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., a broker-dealer, according to his publicly available BrokerCheck, as maintained by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
Per his BrokerCheck report, prior to his employment Merrill Lynch, Mr. Margiotta was employed by UBS Financial Services Inc. from October 2008 to June 2015, and with Citigroup Global Markets Inc. from December 2003 to November 2008, as well as other prior firms.
Mr. Margiotta’s BrokerCheck report indicates that he has received two customer complaints. The first complaint received by Mr. Margiotta involved allegations that he purchased securities that were unsuitable for the investor and sought damages of $1 million, according to the BrokerCheck report. That complaint resulted in a settlement to the investor of $355,000 to the investor the BrokerCheck report details. The second complaint received by Mr. Margiotta alleged unsuitability and that the broker informed the client “oil had bottomed out for sure prompting [the investor] to purchase securities which plummeted,” according to BrokerCheck records.
It has been well publicized that the oil markets have suffered a significant drop since 2014. Recently, the Wall Street Journal published an article stating that U.S. Oil prices entered a bear market by dropping more than 20% from prices in June 2016. Brokers are not permitted to, pursuant to FINRA Rule 2210, provide investors with unbalanced views of securities they recommend. Brokers are also obligated by FINRA Rule 2111 to recommend securities that are suitable for their customers. To ensure recommendations are suitable, each broker must consider a client’s age, tax status, net worth, investment experience, and risk tolerance, among other factors.