April 2017- Ankeny, IA
The FINRA records of Timothy J. Hawkins, a stockbroker who is currently employed by Broker Dealer Financial Services, Inc. and was previously employed by VSR Financial Services, disclose 2 prior customer disputes.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is the agency that licenses and regulates stockbrokers and brokerage firms. FINRA requires brokers and brokerage firms to report customer complaints and disputes as well as regulatory sanctions. In addition brokers are required to disclose certain financial matters such as personal bankruptcies, judgments and liens.
In FINRA arbitration 13-01960 a customer of VSR Financial Services alleged damages of $300,000 for breach of contract, unsuitable investments and negligence, from 2005 to 2008 in connection with Direct Investments and limited partnerships in Oil and Gas and Real Estate Securities. That case was settled for $55,000.
Hawkins has been employed by Broker Dealer Financial Services, Inc. since 8/2016. Prior to that he was employed by VSR Financial Services from 1/2000 until 8/2016. Hawkins discloses business affiliations with Lexaurum Advisors in Overland Park, KS, and The Masters Group located in Ankeny, IA.
VSR Financial Services was fined $550,000 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in May 2013 in connection with the sale of alternative investments . In their findings, FINRA criticized VSR Financial for recommending high concentration levels of alternative investments in customer accounts and for its lack of supervision over the use of consolidated reports prepared by brokers and provided to customers.
Alternative investments include non publicly traded real estate investment trusts (REITS) , hedge funds, real estate, commodities and derivatives contracts and, managed futures. These investments tend to be complex, illiquid, nontransparent, hard to value and expensive. Many of the alternative investments sold over recent years are not traded on any public market making them difficult to value and even more difficult to liquidate if cash is needed.
VSR wound down operations at the end of 2016 and transferred most of their brokers and customer accounts to Summit Brokerage Services. See this for more information regarding VSR Financial Services.
If you have questions about an account handled by Timothy J. Hawkins call for a no charge consultation.
Rex Securities Law , with offices in Boca Raton, FL, and Austin, TX, provides representation to investors nationwide who are seeking recovery of investment losses due to the negligence or fraud of stockbrokers and broker dealers. If you have questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney.
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