FSA fines stockbroker for bad advice

The FSA has fined Mansion House Securities £122,500 for giving customers unsuitable and inaccurate advice when selling them higher risk shares.

The FSA found the firm's advisers had given customers inaccurate information and failed to highlight the risks associated with the recommended shares. Its advisers also used inappropriate sales practices to pressure customers into buying shares.

The FSA pointed out that this is their third recent fine against a stockbroker for treating customers unfairly.

Our view - if you have been missold shares by a stockbroker and lost money, you should consider a claim.

Unauthorised stockbroker imprisoned

An unauthorised stockbroker has been given 15 months imprisonment for offences of dishonesty including theft, following a prosecution brought by the FSA.
Mr William Anthony 'Robin' Radclyffe, of Salisbury, was sentenced on February 11 at London's Central Criminal Court.

William Anthony 'Robin' Radclyffe, of Salisbury, pleaded guilty to 15 offences, with a further 34 taken into consideration. He has also been disqualified from being a company director for five years, which seems a short time.

From 1997 to 2004, acting as an unauthorised broker, the FSA says that he made false and misleading statements to his clients about both the management and profit made by an illegal collective investment scheme that he was operating. He also stole an investment portfolio valued at almost £100,000 and dishonestly failed to return £20,000 he owed to his former partner, who also invested in his scheme.

Radclyffe defrauded a number of investors, the majority of them friends. Losses attributed to Mr Radclyffe total more than £350,000.

Mr Radclyffe was not an authorised stockbroker. So his clients will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Services or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Don't entrust your money to someone not officially authorised, however well you think you know them.

FSA bans broker for misleading customers

The FSA has banned Mohammed Suba Miah, a former broker at Square Mile Securities Limited, and fined him £21,000.

He sold high risk shares to customers without their consent and deliberately misled them by not explaining the risks involved.

The FSA reviewed 19 transactions between December 2005 and May 2006. In 11 of them he had been dishonest by recording the purchase of high risk shares by customers without their permission.

According to the regulator Mr Miah also made inaccurate and misleading claims about the performance and value of the shares, and failed to inform customers of the higher risks associated with buying them.

The FSA say

As a stockbroker and approved person Mr Miah was in a position of trust. Customers have a right to expect their brokers to give clear and fair advice, recommend suitable shares and to treat them fairly. Stockbrokers are on notice that the FSA will not tolerate abuse of this trust, and our actions against Mr
Miah show that we take this very seriously.

And only last week the Ombudsman highlighted the need for stockbrokers to deal honestly with their clients.