Formerly known as Bankers Systems Brokerage Services, PrimeVest Financial Services, Inc. is a self-clearing broker-dealer company. As a subsidiary of ING Group, the company operates with its headquarters in St. Cloud, Minnesota. PrimeVest was founded in 1984 and provides banking, insurance, and asset management services to private, corporate, and institutional clients.
Like many large investment firms, PrimeVest Financial has far too many brokers to monitor at any given time, and thus has a disciplinary record with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). In 2006, FINRA fined PrimeVest over $1 million for accepting commissions in return for illegal favoring of certain investment funds. PrimeVest was actually 1 of 4 companies who were fined for a total of $7 million. According to FINRA regulations, no investment firm can favor share distribution in return for commissions. This dishonest transactions rightly earned a large fine.
More recently, in 2011 PrimeVest Financial was fined $10,000 for failing to accurately report dozens of TRACE-eligible trades during the 3rd quarter of 2010. TRACE, or the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine, ensures that there is total transparency between investment firms and their clients. TRACE is an important part of holding financial institutions accountable, so accurate reporting is part of what keeps the financial industry healthy and ethical. TRACE prevents fraud, so FINRA fines ensure that investment firms are creating accurate records of their activities.
PrimeVest Financial Services, Inc. and all other FINRA-licensed investment firms are required by law to oversee their brokers to ensure ethical action on behalf of each investor. Monitoring the activity of each broker is designed to prevent fraud and negligence, but that level of oversight is not always maintained. If a PrimeVest broker acts in such a way that wrongfully deprives an investor of substantial financial assets, intentionally or unintentionally, FINRA regulations give investors the right to hold PrimeVest legally responsible to recover those losses.
While FINRA laws provide rights to investors in the event of negligence or fraud, they are essentially a police force for the financial industry and are not concerned with fighting on behalf of victims. That’s what Meyer Wilson does. We have the experience and resources to go toe-to-toe with the nation’s largest, oldest investment firms on your behalf. You may feel like you’re facing a Goliath, but Meyer Wilson can help you become a David, with the precision to defeat financial giants like PrimeVest. We conduct claims in federal and state court as well as in private arbitration through FINRA and the American Arbitration Association.
