Alex Phillips: ETF Complaint Against UBS Rep Settled for $290K

An investor complaint against Los Angeles financial advisor Alex Phillips (CRD# 1730948) reached a settlement of more than $200,000. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that he is a broker and an investment advisor with UBS Financial Services, and that he is also registered with the firm’s office in Pacific Palisade, California.

Mr. Phillips’s BrokerCheck report discloses several investor complaints. The most recent, filed in July 2022, alleges “unsuitability and misrepresentation with respect to recommendations to invest in and hold an options overlay strategy.” The pending complaint alleges damages of $750,000.

In a comment on the pending complaint’s disclosure, Mr. Phillips wrote that the complaint was filed not against him but against UBS Financial Services. “It was reported on my record solely because FINRA rules require the reporting of such claims on the record of the claimant’s broker of record,” he wrote, adding that he disputes the claimants’ assertions that they were not apprised of the investment’s risks. “To the contrary, they specifically acknowledged and accepted those risks in writing, and would not have been allowed to participate in the investment had they not done so,” he asserted, continuing: “I believe this was a suitable recommendation, and that I treated these customers properly as I strive to do with all of my valued clients.”

A second investor complaint, filed in 2020, alleged that the claimant “told his Financial Advisor that he wanted to be in a defensive position and he was surprised to discover he was not.” The complaint, which concerned an investment in exchange-traded funds, reached a settlement of $290,000.

In a comment on the 2020 complaint, Mr. Phillips denied the allegations. “The client purchased and ultimately sold levered and inverse ETFs on an unsolicited basis,”  he wrote, adding: “At no point from purchase to sale did I provide advice, guidance, or oversight regarding these securities. I went so far as to advise the client that I did not agree with his strategy and thought it to be risky. The fact that this matter was settled should not be construed that there was any liability or wrongdoing on my part whatsoever.”

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Alex Phillips holds 28 years of securities industry experience. Based in Los Angeles, California, he has been a broker and an investment advisor with UBS Financial Services since 2008. His past registrations include Citigroup Global Markets and Morgan Stanley & Company. His credentials include the passage of five securities industry qualifying exams: the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; the National Commodity Futures Examination, or Series 3; 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 holds 27 state licenses. (Information current as of August 24, 2022.)

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