Nicolas Barrios – UBS Advisor Barred by Regulators & Fired by UBS

Nicolas Barrios, former Winter Haven, Florida UBS branch manager and financial advisor has been barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on June 11, 2019. This comes just months after he was terminated by UBS for stating during a firm review that he: (a) he arranged for a client to invest away from UBS in a private company; (b) he personally invested in that company without UBS’ approval; and (3) he used personal email to communicate with client’s family in an attempt to evade UBS’ detection. UBS stated that it “subsequently learned that at least seven of [Barrios’] clients moved money from UBS accounts to outside bank accounts from which they wrote checks to an entity with which [Barrios] is affiliated.”

FINRA launched an investigation and Barrios failed to cooperate, resulting in him being barred from the industry. In addition, on April 23, 2019, a former client wrote a written complaint against Barrios. UBS reported the complaint on Barrios’ record as follows “The client’s beneficiaries allege the Financial Advisor invested in risky stocks for her age. She further alleges the FA stated he took her money and traded it outside of UBS. She finally alleges the client did not authorize stock trades and thought her money was safe.”

It appears from the above information that Barrios was engaging in “selling away,” which is where an advisor recommends investments that are not approved by the firm. We have represented many investors who lost money due to the selling away of unsuitable investments.

If you believe you were a victim of selling away or unsuitable investments, please call 888-976-6111 for a free consultation.