Monty Cerf: $7 Million Options Overlay Complaint Against UBS Advisor

A pending investor complaint against New York financial advisor Monty Cerf (CRD# 2269462) alleges that he misrepresented and recommended an unsuitable options strategy. Records provided by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority indicate that he is a broker and an investment advisor with UBS Financial Services.

Mr. Cerf’s BrokerCheck report discloses multiple investor complaints, including three pending complaints filed between 2019 and 2022. All three pending complaints allege misrepresentation and suitability violations connected to an options overlay strategy while Mr. Cerf was a representative of UBS Financial Services. The complaints allege cumulative damages of One complaint alleges damages between $500,000 and $1 million; another alleges damages of $7 million; and the third alleges damages of $600,000. In statements included with two of the disclosures, Mr. Cerf notes that he was not personally named in the complaints.

A fourth investor complaint, filed in 2020, alleges that as a representative of UBS Financial Services, he committed fraud, made misrepresentations of material facts, breached his fiduciary duty, recommended an unsuitable product, engaged in negligence, and breached contract. The complaint evolved into an arbitration proceeding before a FINRA panel, which issued an award to the customer of $1,447,087.40.

A fifth investor complaint, filed in 2020, alleged suitability violations and misrepresentations stemming from an options overlay strategy. This complaint also evolved into an arbitration proceeding before a FINRA panel, which issued an award to the customer of $1,875,636.98.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Monty Cerf holds 26 years of securities industry experience. Based in New York City, he has been a broker and an investment advisor with UBS Financial Services since 2015. His registration history includes Barclays Capital, Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan Securities, and Bear Stearns & Company. His credentials include the passage of six securities industry qualifying exams: the General Securities Principal Examination, or Series 24; 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 Combined State Law Examination, or Series 66. He currently holds 46 state licenses. (Information current as of February 1, 2023.)

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