Michael Kamperman: FINRA Suspends Waco Financial Advisor

A disciplinary action taken by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority against former Waco, Texas broker and investment advisor Michael Kamperman (CRD# 2002603) suspended him over allegations he made unsuitable investment recommendations in his customers’ 401(k) and IRA retirement accounts. A former representative of HD Vest, Kamperman was suspended for 18 months and issued a fine of $20,000.

According to a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (No. 2016050400401) dated June 2019, Michael Kamperman “made unsuitable investment recommendations in the 401(k) and IRA retirement accounts of eight customers” between May 2010 and June 2016. FINRA’s findings state specifically that he over-concentrated these investors’ accounts in “high risk, speculative” securities in the oil and gas sector, and further recommended to one customer that they purchased and hold a leveraged inverse exchange traded note (ETN) for almost 16 months, even though it was “only meant to be held for one trading day.” According to FINRA, his recommendations were unsuitable for his customers, and he had “no reasonable basis to believe” the ETN recommendation was suitable for any customer. FINRA’s findings state that his recommendations resulted in his customer experiencing trading losses that exceeded $407,000. As a result of the foregoing alleged conduct, he was suspended from association with any FINRA member firm in any capacity for 18 months. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $20,000.

Michael Kamperman’s disclosure records also list one recent settled customer complaint against him. Filed in 2016, the complaint alleged that as a representative of Prospera Financial Services, he recommended unsuitable and over-concentrated investments, breached contract, and breached his fiduciary duty. The complaint reached a settlement in 2017 of $320,000.

Michael Kamperman is currently not registered as a broker or investment advisor. His employment history includes HD Vest Investment Services in Waco, Texas; Prospera Financial Services in McGregor, Texas; UBS Financial Services in Weehawken, New Jersey; Rotan Mosle; and Shearson Lehman Hutton in New York, New York. He currently holds zero state licenses and has passed five securities industry qualification examinations.