William David Hobby of Atlanta Georgia a stockbroker formerly registered with UBS Financial Services Inc. is the subject of a customer initiated investment related arbitration claim which was settled for $130,000.00 in damages based upon allegations that between 2014 and 2018: (1) trades were effected in the customer’s account by the stockbroker without the customer’s knowledge or consent (2) the customer’s risk tolerance had been changed without permission (3) transactions effected in the customer’s account by the stockbroker were not suitable for the customer and (4) misrepresentations had been made to the customer by Hobby during the time that he was associated with UBS Financial Services. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Arbitration No. 19-00935 (Nov. 14, 2019).
FINRA Public Disclosure confirms that Hobby has been identified in twenty-four more customer initiated investment related disputes concerning accusations of his misconduct while employed by securities broker dealers including UBS Financial Services. On August 21, 2018, a customer initiated investment related complaint concerning Hobby’s activities was resolved for $80,000.00 in damages founded on accusations that transactions were inappropriate given the customer’s tolerance for risk and objectives for investing. The claim alleges that the customer’s risk tolerance information had been impermissibly changed to make it appear as though the investor was more aggressive.
Hobby is also referenced in a customer initiated investment related complaint which was settled on December 10, 2018 for $24,000.00 in damages supported by allegations that the UBS Financial Services customer incurred unreasonable losses between August 23, 2016 and October 11, 2018 because of Hobby’s actions. According to the claim, the customer was mislabeled an aggressive investor and should not have been placed into over-the-counter equities given the customer’s age.
On October 30, 2019, another customer filed an investment related complaint in reference to Hobby’s conduct where the customer sought $480,162.64 in damages based upon accusations that an unreasonable portion of the customer’s assets were allocated in very aggressive investments between October 2, 2015 and May 25, 2018 causing the customer to experience unwarranted losses. According to the claim, the customer’s assets were unsuitably invested by the stockbroker in volatile equities. The claim also alleges that Hobby overconcentrated the customer’s assets in aggressive equities.
Hobby was discharged by UBS Financial Services on September 18, 2018 based upon allegations that he violated the securities broker dealer’s policies and procedures. According to UBS Financial Services, trades were effected in the customer’s account by Hobby on a discretionary basis without the stockbroker obtaining written permission in violation of its Order Entry Policy. Hobby also allegedly failed to report or otherwise escalate a customer initiated investment related complaint to the securities broker dealer.
