The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged Morgan Stanley and one of the firm’s former investment adviser representatives, William Keith Phillips, with securities law violations for misleading clients about the money managers being recommended to them and failing to disclose conflicts of interest.
According to the SEC’s orders in the case, Morgan Stanley breached its fiduciary duty to advisory clients in its Nashville, Tennessee, branch office by making material misstatements about a program through which the firm assisted clients in developing investment objectives and in selecting properly vetted money managers. Contrary to its disclosures, Morgan Stanley recommended some money managers who had not been approved for participation in the firm’s advisory programs and had not been subject to the firm’s due diligence review. William Keith Phillips of Nashville, Tennessee, then a top producer at Morgan Stanley, steered clients to three unapproved managers in particular. Unbeknownst to investors, Morgan Stanley and William Keith Phillips received substantial brokerage commissions or fees from these three unapproved managers.
William Keith Phillips is now registered with Wiley Bros-Aintree Capital, LLC.
According to Phillips’ FINRA Broker Report, he has been named in at least three customer complaints related to securities fraud, including claims for unsuitable investments and various sales practice violations.
If you have questions about investments you made with William Keith Phillips or Morgan Stanley’s Nashville, Tennessee branch, or if you believe that you have been the victim of a securities fraud, the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A. may be able to help. The Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A. is a South Florida securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and Chapter 7 bankruptcy law firm based in Boca Raton. David Carter is a securities attorney that reviews securities fraud cases throughout the country and Florida, including securities cases in Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Stuart, Fort Myers, Naples, Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Fort Pierce. To contact the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A., please call 561-750-6999, or email us at contact@carterpa.com. For more information about the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A., you can also visit our website at www.carterpa.com.