Juan Carlos Cortes – and the firm that employs him or her – is regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
If you are like most people, before you go out to dinner at a new restaurant, you probably take a quick look at the reviews. This makes sense; you are going to pay for an expensive dinner, and you need to be sure that you are getting a good value.
Yet, when choosing a financial advisor, many people fail to conduct this same level of due diligence. Before turning over access to your money, you need to be sure that you have found a financial advisor that you can trust. Here, our audit report, including details of allegations, complaints, and sanctions will help you decide whether or not to invest with Juan Carlos Cortes.
The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient… Warren Buffet
BrokerComplaints.com is currently investigating allegations related to Juan Carlos Cortes. We provide a free platform for investors to help them in their claims against negligent brokers and brokerage firms.
About Juan Cortes
Juan Carlos Cortes is an Investment Adviser. Juan Carlos Cortes’s Central Registration Depository (CRD) number is 5706157 and the FINRA Profile can be found at – https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/5706157.
Click here to download a Detailed Audit Report for Juan Carlos Cortes.
Juan Carlos Cortes has previously been reprimanded and has disclosures and/or client dispute(s) listed at FINRA BrokerCheck.
Accusations and Disclosures
You can find below, a quick snapshot of Juan Carlos Cortes’s regulatory actions, arbitrations, and complaints.
DISCLOSURE 1 –
- Event Date: 5/27/2016
- Disclosure Type: Regulatory
- Resolution: Final
- Initiated By: UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
- Allegations: IA Release 4399; Investment Company Act Release 32130/May 27, 2016: The Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) deems it appropriate and in the public interest that public administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted pursuant to Sections 203(e), 203(f) and 203(k) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act), and Section 9(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (Investment Company Act) against Juan Carlos Cortes. The Commission filed fraud charges against Cortes, the firm, and three additional principals of the firm, based on its recommendation and sale of proprietary products to non-U.S. clients. Cortes, and two principals of the firm developed Proprietary Products to finance a Florida-based residential real estate developer. An essential component of their effort was to sell the Proprietary Products through their financial advisers, five of whom, they knew were employed by both the firm and the firm’s affiliated non-U.S. financial services entities. Cortes, and the two individuals encouraged the sale of Proprietary Products by providing these financial advisers offering memoranda, term sheets and presentations concerning the residential real estate developer. However, Cortes, and the two individuals failed to take steps to ensure that the Proprietary Products were not sold through the firm or, in the alternative, to train the firm’s investment adviser representatives to make adequate disclosures under the Advisers Act in connection with any such firm sales. As a result, by failing to prohibit the sales of the Proprietary Products through the U.S.-based firm or, in the alternative, by failing to train the firm’s investment adviser representatives to make adequate disclosures under the Advisers Act concerning the conflicts of interest, when recommending Proprietary Products to firm clients, Cortes, aided and abetted and caused the firm’s violations of Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act. Cortes, in his capacity as CCO at the firm, failed reasonably to supervise an individual, with a view to preventing violations of the federal securities laws, while the individual was subject to his supervision, within the meaning of Section 203(e)(6) of the Advisers Act. Additionally, Cortes willfully aided and abetted and caused the firm’s violations of, Section 206(4) of the Advisers Act and Rule 206(4)-7 thereunder for failure, to design and implement policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violations of the Advisers Act. In addition the firm willfully made, and Cortes willfully aided and abetted and caused the firm to make, material misrepresentations in Form ADV. As a result of the conduct, Cortes willfully aided and abetted and caused the firm’s violations of, Section 207 of the Advisers Act.
- Resolution: Order |Sanctions: Bar (Permanent) |Registration Capacities Affected: see comments
- Duration: see comments
- Start Date: 5/27/2016 Sanctions: Cease and Desist Sanctions: Civil and Administrative Penalty(ies)/Fine(s) |Amount: $50,000.00 Sanctions: Prohibition
According to a study prepared for the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, 80 percent of American investors report that they have been solicited to participate in a fraud scheme, while 11 percent of American investors report that they personally lost money as a result of fraud.
FINRA notes that the rate of investment fraud is most likely much higher than it is reported. This is because many victims of financial advisor scams are too ashamed to come forward. Further, the study also found that a significant number of investors do not know how to spot common red flags of investment fraud. The least you should do is share your experience with other potential victims of investment scams.
Previous Associations
Under federal securities law and securities industry regulations, registered investment firms have a legal duty to supervise their financial advisors. Section 15(b)(4)(E) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 makes a securities firm liable for the conduct of representatives.
- LATAM INVESTMENTS, LLC (CRD#: 133163) :: 8/28/2009 – 2/8/2010 :: MIAMI, FL
The duty to supervise securities representatives is a strong legal requirement. Registered investment firms must take many different steps to ensure that they are protecting their customers from irresponsible and criminal financial advisors.
Legit or Not?
Unfortunately, stockbroker fraud is more common than many investors would like to think. And yes, stockbrokers (including Juan Carlos Cortes, but not limited to) can (and do) steal money from their clients. While it’s rare that a broker will literally steal his client’s money (though that does happen), typically the “theft” of investment funds comes in the form of other fraudulent violations of securities law and FINRA rules which leads to significant investment losses.
Sometimes investment losses occur because advisors, stockbrokers, and even brokerage firms, commit fraud. Massimo Vignelli
Investors generally understand that there are risks associated with buying and selling securities. The market can go up, and the market can go down. No matter how skilled of an investor you are, there are always risks. With that being said, sometimes investment losses cannot be blamed on simple back luck.
There are 10 major types of complaints we receive against Investment Brokers –
- Outright Theft (Conversion of Funds)
- Unauthorized Trading
- Misrepresentation or Omission of Material Facts
- Excessive Trading (Churning)
- Lack of Diversification
- Unsuitable Investment Recommendations
- Failure to Disclose a Personal Conflict of Interest
- Front Running of Transactions
- Breakpoint Sale Violations
- Negligent Portfolio Management
Do your due diligence before investing. Public records are available for everybody to review and decide on the safest bet.
How to Protect Yourself
We, as citizens, place a great deal of trust in the financial advisors who are tasked with helping us achieve and maintain financial security. Most of the time financial advisors and stockbrokers are honest folks who work diligently in their client’s best interests. However, on occasion financial advisors and the brokerage firms who employ them mess up and cause serious financial harm to their clients. Sometimes these losses are caused by simple negligence. Other times fraud or other serious misconduct is to blame.
Here are 5 signs that your broker needs to be reported –
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty: Under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, certain investment professionals, known as registered investment advisors (RIAs), owe fiduciary obligations to their customers. Your investment broker must always look out for your best interests. If you lost money because of your broker’s breach of fiduciary duty, you may be entitled to compensation for the full value of your damages.
- Unsuitable Investments: Many financial advisors are not fiduciaries. Instead, they are held to the suitability standard. These stockbrokers and financial advisors can only sell and recommend financial products that are appropriate for a customer’s unique investment profile. If you lost money in unsuitable investments, you should consider reporting them.
- Material Misrepresentations or Omissions: Brokers have a duty to make fair and honest representations to their clients. If they fail to do so, and an investor loses money due to a misrepresentation or a material omission, the broker may be liable for the investor’s losses.
- Lack of Diversification: Brokers must also act with the appropriate level of professional skill. Pushing a customer into over-concentrated investments is highly risky. Brokers can be held liable for losses sustained because of an investor’s inappropriate lack of diversification.
- Excessive Trading (Churning): Stockbrokers and financial advisors must have a well-grounded, reasonable basis to execute all trades. Unfortunately, there are cases in which brokers will frequently trade on a customer’s account, simply to increase their own fees. This unlawful practice is known as churning.
- Unauthorized Trading: Brokers must have the proper legal authority to make transactions on behalf of a client. If you lost money because your broker made trades that you never approved of, you may have been the victim of unauthorized trading. You should consult with an experienced attorney.
Report Juan Cortes
In order to prevail in an investment fraud lawsuit or FINRA arbitration cases, you must be able to assert a viable ‘cause of action’.
Juan Carlos Cortes – and the firm that employs this broker – is regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). FINRA provides an online form to allow investors to file a formal complaint against their financial advisor, stockbroker, or brokerage firm.
Click here to go to FINRA’s Online Complaint Form →
This form will ask you for specific information related to your complaint. Be prepared by gathering the following:
- Name and symbol for the investment product in question.
- The CRD number (5706157) for the broker – Juan Carlos Cortes
- Your complete contact information.
Remember, it is advised to report your broker to FINRA, only after you have exhausted all of your other remedies and carefully prepared a compelling complaint. Once you file a complaint against your broker at FINRA, your case will be bound by FINRA’s rules and the arbitration panel’s eventual decision. The time clock will start, and your complaint will be served on your broker or broker-dealer.