Robert J. Batchen Suspended from Securities Industry

According to FINRA, Robert J. Batchen (CRD# 2106288, Skokie, IL) was recently suspended from the securities industry. Without admitting or denying the findings, Batchen consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that while associated with a member firm, he effected discretionary trades in the accounts of a customer. The findings stated that Batchen’s discretionary trading activity allegedly included transactions in equities, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Non-Traditional ETFs, and options.

According to the FINRA AWC, although the customer was aware of the trading, Batchen did not obtain prior written authorization from the customer to exercise discretionary power in the accounts and the firm did not accept the accounts for discretionary trading.

The findings also stated that Batchen allegedly effected unsuitable purchases of Non-Traditional ETFs for the customer’s accounts, which did not comport with the customer’s financial situation, conservative investment objectives and moderate tolerance for risk.

In addition, Batchen reportedly effected the transactions without fully understanding each product, including that holding such products for extended periods could cause a customer to experience significant losses.

Batchen allegedly held these Non-Traditional ETFs in the customer’s accounts for an average of approximately 222 days, despite the fact that these Non-Traditional ETFs were designed to achieve their stated objectives within a single trading day. The customer lost approximately $56,246 because of the investments in Non-Traditional ETFs, and the firm subsequently provided restitution to the customer for the losses.

According to the FINRA document, the findings also included that Batchen failed to timely disclose a Federal tax lien on his Form U4 in the amount of $1.2 million. After paying approximately $12,000 to the IRS, Batchen was released from the lien.

For FINRA’s full findings see FINRA Case # 2012032960401.

According to his Broker Check, Batchen was registered with Uhlmann Price Securities in Skokie, IL from 09/2012 – 10/2015, and Wells Fargo Advisors in Skokie, IL from 01/2008 – 09/2012. He has 10 disclosure events listed on his broker report.

In addition, Batchen has four customer disputes listed on FINRA’s Broker Check since January 2012 that include allegations of unsuitable investments, and unauthorized trading. He was discharged from Uhlman Price in September 2015 and is not currently registered with any firm.

Failure to Supervise

Brokerage firms are required to adequately supervise their agents to ensure they are complying with FINRA rules and they can held responsible for any losses in a FINRA arbitration claim if it is determined that they failed to properly supervise their agent.

 If you suffered losses investing with Robert J. Batchen, the attorneys at The White Law Group may be able to help. For a free consultation, please call (888) 637-5510.

The foregoing information, which is all publicly available on FINRA’s website, is being provided by The White Law Group.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Franklin, Tennessee.