Suing Dawn Bennett and Western International Securities for Unsuitable Investment Recommendations

According to a recent InvestmentNews article, Dawn Bennett, a former registered broker with Western International Securities, has lost a $1 million Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claim. Bennett was kicked out of the industry previously, and a FINRA arbitration panel accused her of making unsuitable investment recommendations for one of her clients. The former client will receive $746,000 as part of the award. Ms. Bennett allegedly recommended that the client invest in a gold exchange-traded fund. This was not suitable for him, and was leveraging his account and investing in these risky investments. Bennett’s former firm, Western International Securities, was also named in the arbitration award. Ms. Bennett was accused of breaching fiduciary duty, failing to supervise and negligence. She invested the client’s money in SPDR Gold Shares exchange traded fund. A broker must take into account a client’s risk tolerance, age, net worth, investment objectives and investment sophistication among other factors before recommending a security. If she does not, her brokerage firm may be liable for losses.

According to her online FINRA BrokerCheck report, Ms. Bennett was registered with Wheat, First Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina from March 1987 until August 1996, Legg Mason Wood Walker in Baltimore, Maryland from August 1996 until February 2006, Citigroup Global Markets in New York, New York from February 2006 until February 2006, Royal Alliance Associates in Washington, D.C. from February 2006 until October 2009 and Western International Securities in Washington, D.C. from October 2009 until December 2015. She has 13 customer disputes against her, nine of which are currently pending. Please call today to discuss your options with one of our attorneys. There is no obligation.