Elba Nogueras: FINRA Suspends Ex-First Southern Advisor

Former Guaynabo, Puerto Rico financial advisor Elba Nogueras (CRD# 4459340) has been involved involved in multiple investor complaints involving Puerto Rico closed-end funds. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that she was registered as a broker with First Southern representative, while an AdvisorHub report states that FINRA sanctioned her over alleged rule violations.

Ms. Nogueras’s BrokerCheck report discloses 15 investor complaints, filed between 2014 and 2020, that reached settlements. Many of the complaints allege that she misrepresented and/or recommended unsuitable investments, including Puerto Rico bonds and/or closed-end funds. Some of the complaints allege that she over-concentrated investments in the customers’ accounts. The complaints, all of which related to her conduct as a representative of UBS Financial Services, reached settlements that amounted to more than $1 million.

A report published in AdvisorHub on September 19, 2023 explains that FINRA suspended Ms. Guaynabo for four months and fined her $5,000 in connection with allegations that she violated Regulation Best Interest, which requires brokers to recommend investments in their customers’ best interest, and FINRA Rule 2010, which requires brokers to observe high standards of commercial honor. According to FINRA’s findings, the report states, she “recommended that her 56-year old client, who had a moderate risk tolerance and limited investment experience, invest $81,000, or 81% of his liquid net worth, into an unidentified non-traded REIT.” She allegedly received a commission of $5,670 in connection with this sale. She was registered with First Southern at the time of the recommendation, per FINRA.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Elba Nogueras holds 19 years of securities industry experience. Her registration history includes First Southern (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico; 2019-2021), Kovack Securities (San Juan, Puerto Rico; 2015-2019), UBS Financial Services (San Juan, Puerto Rico; 2006-2015), and R-G Investments Corporation (San Juan, Puerto Rico; 2002-2006). Her credentials include the passage of three securities industry qualifying exams: the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the Uniform Combined State Law Examination, or Series 66. She is not currently licensed with any FINRA member firm or US state. (Information current as of September 21, 2023.)

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