Stephen Sperling: Wintrust Advisor Faces $50K-$100K Complaint

Palatine, Illinois financial advisor Stephen Sperling (CRD# 3061073) recently received an investor complaint alleging he unsuitably recommended risky non-traded products. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that he is a broker and an investment advisor with Wintrust Investments.

Mr. Sperling’s BrokerCheck report discloses several investor complaints. The most recent, filed in May 2023, alleges that as a representative of Wintrust Investments, he “inexplicably recommended” the customer invest “a significant portion of her personal and/or trust assets” in high-risk, non-traded investments that exceeded her risk tolerance. The complaint alleges further that he represented the products “as safe, conservative, and income producing and did not explain or disclose the risks including lack of liquidity, lack of transparency or the nature of the complex alternative investments.” The pending complaint alleges damages between $50,000 and $100,000.

An earlier investor complaint, filed in 2021, alleged that as a representative of Wintrust Investments, he “failed to communicate or disclose the risks” of a non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) product “which ha[d] been frozen with no payouts for years.” The complaint alleged damages of $20,000 and was denied by the firm.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Stephen Sperling holds 24 years of securities industry experience. Based in Palatine, Illinois, he has been a broker and an investment advisor with Wintrust Investments since 2007. His past registrations include LaSalle Financial Services (Chicago, Illinois; 2000-2007), Harris InvestorLine (Chicago, Illinois; 2000), and Harris Investors Direct (Chicago, Illinois; 1998-2000). His credentials include the passage of four securities industry qualifying exams: the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; and the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, or Series 65. He currently holds 27 state licenses. (Information current as of June 24, 2023.)

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