Anthony Hobson, Advisor for Money Concepts Capital Corp, Faces Allegations Concerning Alternative Investments

Anthony Hobson has been the subject of at least three customer complaints over the course of his career.

The Sonn Law Group is investigating allegations that Anthony Hobson committed misconduct. Under FINRA Rules, brokerage firms are liable for their brokers’ misconduct or negligence and investors may be able to their investment through FINRA arbitration. Contact Sonn Law Group today or call us at 866–827–3202 for a free consultation.

Anthony Hobson (CRD#:4212302), currently employed by Money Concepts Capital Corp., was previously registered with Investors Capital Corp. and Next Financial Group, Inc. Hobson has been the subject of three customer complaints over the course of his career, according to his BrokerCheck report. Some of the complaints concern alternative investments, such as direct participation products (DPPs) like non-traded REITs, oil & gas programs, annuities, and equipment leasing programs.

In June 2019, a customer dispute was filed alleging that Hobson violated the securities laws between April 2008 and November 2010 by over-concentrating customer accounts in high-risk and speculative alternative investments. The claim alleges $218,500 in damages and is currently pending.

In January 2015, a customer dispute was filed that alleged Hobson violated the securities laws by misrepresenting a non-traded REIT. The claim was settled by the firm for $32,500.

According to his BrokerCheck report, the customer dispute was filed against him on June 26, 2019. The claimant alleged that Lunceford disregarded his objectives by recommending that he invest more than half his portfolio in illiquid non-traded REITs. The transactions at issue occurred in 2013, when Lunceford was still employed with Securities Service Network.

DDPs include products such as non-traded REITs, oil and gas offerings, equipment leasing products, and other alternative investments. These alternative investments virtually never profit investors and are almost always unsuitable for investors because of their high fee and cost structure. Brokers selling these products are paid additional commission in order to hype these inferior quality investments providing a perverse incentives to create an artificial market for the investments.

Non-traded REITs are securities that do not trade on a public securities exchange. For this reason, non-traded REITs can be illiquid. The underlying collateral of the REITs consists of income producing residential or commercial real estate. Typically, the commissions generated on non-traded REITs are higher than industry norm (approx. 7%), and the investments themselves may be extremely volatile due to associated risk factors. Non-traded REITs are only suitable for investors with a long-term investment horizon who are willing to accept higher levels of risk in their investments.

These types of alternative investment products have become so popular among brokers without providing any benefit to investors that many states now limit investors from investing more than 10% of their liquid assets in Non-Traded REITs and BDCs. Many states impose these limitations because no rational person can come up with an argument to support the continued sale of these products. Unfortunately for investors there is no regulatory authority in the United States with the ability to analyze investments in order to ban flawed investment products.

Jeffrey R. Sonn is an experienced investor losses attorney. If you suffered losses because a financial professional committed acts in violation of FINRA Rules, Mr. Sonn will protect your rights and interests. Please do not hesitate to contact the Sonn Law Group today for a free review of your claim.