JOSEPH TRANCHINA – CEROS FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. Broker Suspended by FINRA – May Recover Investor Losses
CEROS FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. Broker, Joseph Tranchina Suspended by FINRA.
JOSEPH TRANCHINA
CRD#: 6085344
JOSEPH L TRANCHINA (CRD#: 6085344), a broker for CEROS FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. in Holmdel, NJ, was recently suspended for five-months, fined $5,000.00 and ordered restitution of $60,975.00 after the broker consented to FINRA sanctions.
According to Tranchina’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, Without admitting or denying the findings, Tranchina consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he willfully violated Reg BI by recommending to two retail customers a series of trades that were excessive.
The findings stated that Tranchina’s trading resulted in high turnover rates and cost-to-equity ratios that exceeded the traditional guideposts of six and 20 percent, respectively, as well as significant losses.
The first customer, then a 65-year-old judge, had an investment objective of speculation. Tranchina’s recommended transactions in the customer’s account that resulted in an annualized turnover rate of eight and an annualized cost-to-equity ratio of 32 percent and generated $49,645 in commissions and caused $74,331 in realized losses.
The second customer, then a 54-year-old small business owner, also had an investment objective of speculation. The second customer relied on Tranchina’s advice and routinely followed his recommendations and, as a result, Tranchina exercised de facto control over the account.
Tranchina recommended transactions in this account resulting in a turnover rate of 21 and a cost-to-equity ratio of over 90 percent.
Tranchina’s Trading Resulted in Losses
The level of trading that Tranchina recommended in the two customers’ accounts was excessive; not in the best interest of the first customer, and it was unsuitable for the second customer. The two retail customers had approximate combined losses of $100,000, according to the FINRA AWC.
JOSEPH TRANCHINA – CEROS FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. Broker Suspended by FINRA – May Recover Investor Losses
Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A., is investigating brokers who may have unsuitably recommended investments to their clients.
St. Petersburg, Florida law firm Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A., has a national practice representing victimized investors. The firm continues to investigate brokerage firms that placed elderly retirees and other conservative investors in unsuitable investments.
Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A., has filed numerous cases against brokerage firms selling high-risk investments and has recovered more than $400 million dollars on behalf of victimized investors.
We allege in these cases that these investment recommendations were unsuitable for our clients in view of their financial situation, needs and investment objectives.
There is no charge for an evaluation of your case. We handle our cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that unless we recover money for you, we charge no attorney’s fee.
If you incurred losses on your investment and would like your case evaluated by a securities attorney, please contact us.
Some of the information in this blog post was obtained from FINRA on 5/12/25. If you believe this information was reported incorrectly, please contact our firm: 1-800-500-4442.