Investigation: Ralph Marra, former broker with Morgan Stanley and UBS

Have you ever invested any of your hard-earned assets with financial broker Ralph Marra? If so, it is imperative that you are aware of past and present claims and complaints regarding this broker. According to public records that have been provided by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and that can be accessed using their free BrokerCheck tool, Mr. Marra has recently settled multiple customer complaints and has yet another customer complaint that is still pending.

Customer Complaints Against Broker Ralph Marra

At the Sonn Law Group, our firm is committed to protecting the interests of investors throughout the country. We seek to inform investors of any broker misconduct and we fight hard to protect investors’ rights. Currently, our team is investigating claims related to New Jersey-based broker Ralph Marra. The following is a list of some of the past and still active cases that have been brought against Mr. Marra:

• In November of 2014, when Mr. Marra was employed at Morgan Stanley, a customer complained about excessive trading. Excessive trading, also commonly referred to as ‘churning’, can cause serious financial damage to investors. Churning occurs when a broker executes an inappropriately high number of transactions on a client’s account in order to extract additional investment fees. This practice benefits the broker at the direct expense of their client. While Mr. Marra denies any wrongdoing in this case, eventually the complaint was settled for $50,000 worth of damages.
• In July of 2015, a customer alleged that Mr. Marra breached his fiduciary duty and acted negligently in the course of recommending trades and other investment opportunities. The alleged misconduct took place between the years of 2008 and 2013 when Mr. Marra was employed at UBS Financial Securities. This claim was eventually settled for $37,500 in financial damages.
• In April of 2016, a client of Mr. Marra’s alleged that they had been the victim of his unsuitable investment recommendations. At this time, Mr. Marra was once again employed at Morgan Stanley. As not all prospective investment opportunities are suitable for all investors, brokers have a professional responsibility to ensure that they are only recommending appropriate trades. To determine what qualifies as a suitable investment, brokers must use their skills, industry knowledge and experience to gather and analyze key information related to their clients’ needs and objectives. Some of the information that brokers should seek includes the customer’s net worth, the customer’s anticipated future earnings, their long-term objectives, and their level of risk tolerance. If Mr. Marra failed to do that in the course of serving his customers, he can be held liable for his clients’ financial losses. According to the latest information available from FINRA, this claim is currently still pending and the client is seeking $200,000 in compensation.

Were You the Victim of Investment Fraud?

Our attorneys can help. At the Sonn Law Group, our securities fraud lawyers have nearly three decades of experience protecting the legal rights and financial interests of investors. If you lost money investing with broker Ralph Marra, please call our office today at (305) 912-3000 to set up a free review of your claim.