Western International Securities Fined Over $1.5 Million for Failing to Detect Churning

Posted on October 8th, 2024 at 3:45 PM
Western International Securities Fined Over $1.5 Million for Failing to Detect Churning

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law

Western International Securities, a California broker-dealer, has been ordered to pay over $1.5 million for failing to detect churning in 100 customer accounts. The settlement, reached with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), includes a $475,000 fine and nearly $1.06 million in restitution to eight customers who were charged excessive commissions due to unsuitable trading.

FINRA found four former Western advisors generated over $2.5 million in total trading costs between January 2016 and December 2019. These trading fees represented up to 30 percent of the accounts' equity value and had a turnover rate of eight, exceeding FINRA's benchmarks for potentially excessive trading.

According to AdvisorHub, until early 2019, Western relied on trade blotter-based surveillance that did not include cost-to-equity ratios, turnover rates, or other indicators of excessive trading. Additionally, Western failed to provide field supervisors with proper guidance on evaluating excessive trading and did not mandate reasonable follow-up actions.

Western’s compliance department used “negative consent” letters to inform customers about trading in their accounts, taking no action if customers did not respond. Later, Western required customers to sign attestations agreeing with their brokers’ trading activity but failed to explain the firm’s concerns.

The firm accepted the penalty, known as an Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”), without admitting or denying the charges.

 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

If the regulators are after you, and are trying to make a case against you, and you are going to contest their allegations against you, make sure you have the best securities industry defense lawyers, Eccleston Law Firm. My case was spun into a combination of penalties including fines, cash settlements, CE courses and suspension. They were the best I have seen in action. When all was said and done, they had done their magic, my situation was negotiated and settled with a simple "letter of caution" and a case closed without action. It is the most important legal business decision you will ever make, make it Eccleston Law.

Rick R.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

March 21, 2025
SEC Updates Marketing Rule Guidance to Clarify Extracted Performance and Portfolio Metrics

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued updated guidance on its marketing rule, addressing industry concerns regarding net performance requirements, extracted performance, and portfolio characteristics.

March 20, 2025
Stifel Loses Raiding Case, Ordered to Pay Over $7 Million in Legal Fees

Stifel Financial has lost its raiding and breach-of-contract claim against a group of advisors who left its Indianapolis office to establish their own firm.

March 19, 2025
FINRA Enforcement Actions in 2024: Fines Drop But Cases Increase

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) imposed $59 million in fines in 2024, reflecting a 35 percent decrease from the previous year, according to an analysis by Eversheds Sutherland.