Stamford Broker Joseph Chu: $1.6 Million Complaint

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) records show that RBC Capital Markets broker and investment adviser Joseph Chu (CRD# 4546805) recently received several denied or pending customer complaints in recent years, including one that alleges damages of $1.6 million. Chu is based in Stamford, Connecticut.

Joseph Chu’s BrokerCheck report lists a total of five customer complaints against him: three pending and two denied by his member firm. In reverse chronological order, these complaints allege the following.

A complaint filed in January 2021 alleged that as a representative of RBC Capital Markets, Joseph Chu implemented an unsuitable oil investment strategy and was impaired in his ability to provide impartial advice by his “personal connections with the CEO” of one of the investments. The complaint alleged damages of $180,213.94 and was denied by the firm.

A complaint filed in November 2020 alleged that Joseph Chu, as a representative of RBC Capital Markets, failed to properly diversify the customer’s account and made a discretionary purchase of unsuitable oil and gas stocks, resulting in net losses of more than 65% in the account. The pending complaint alleges damages of $367,452.

A complaint filed in August 2020 alleges that Joseph Chu, at RBC Capital Markets, recommended unsuitable investments in oil and gas stocks, “leading to an over-concentration in those sectors.” The pending complaint alleges damages of $1.6 million.

A complaint filed in July 2020 alleges that as a representative of Merrill Lynch and RBC Capital Markets, he made misrepresentations of material facts and over-concentrated the account in “highly volatile investments”. The pending complaint alleges damages between $500,000 and $1 million.

A complaint filed in 2008 alleged that as a representative of Merrill Lynch, he recommended unsuitable mutual fund investments. The complaint alleged damages of $90,000 and was denied by the firm.

Joseph Chu has been registered as a broker and investment adviser with RBC Capital Markets in Stamford, Connecticut since August 2018. He was previously registered with Merrill Lynch in Greenwich, Connecticut from 2002 until 2018. He has passed four securities industry qualifying examinations: the Uniform Combined State Law Examination, or Series 66; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the Futures Managed Funds Examination, or Series 31; and the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7. His BrokerCheck report lists 26 state securities registrations. (Information current as of June 6, 2021.)