WILLIAM HENRY SANDEMAN – FORMER WEDBUSH BROKER BARRED BY FINRA – May Recover Losses

WILLIAM HENRY SANDEMAN – FORMER WEDBUSH BROKER BARRED BY FINRA.

Call 800-500-4442 if you believe your financial adviser recommended unsuitable investments that caused you to suffer investment losses.

William Henry Sandeman (CRD #831384) Barred by FINRA

William Henry Sandeman (CRD #831384), a former broker with Wedbush Securities Inc. in Seattle, Washington, has been barred from associating with any FINRA-member firm in any capacity following a disciplinary action involving recommendations of complex exchange-traded products (ETPs).

According to reports concerning FINRA’s October 2026 disciplinary action, Sandeman recommended that 81 retail customers purchase and hold volatility-linked and non-traditional exchange-traded products as long-term investments. FINRA determined that the recommendations violated Regulation Best Interest and FINRA Rule 2010. The customers reportedly suffered more than $3.5 million in realized investment losses.

Sandeman agreed to the bar without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings.

WILLIAM HENRY SANDEMAN – FINRA BARS FORMER WEDBUSH SECURITIES BROKER FOLLOWING ALLEGATIONS INVOLVING COMPLEX INVESTMENTS

FINRA Allegations Involving Volatility-Linked and Complex Exchange-Traded Products

The disciplinary action concerns recommendations made between December 2020 and January 2025. According to published accounts of the FINRA findings, Sandeman recommended that customers buy and hold volatility-linked and other non-traditional ETPs for extended periods, despite risks associated with using these products as long-term investments.

These products can operate differently from traditional stocks, bonds, and diversified mutual funds. Volatility-linked ETPs may lose value over time because of the costs and mechanics of maintaining exposure to volatility futures. Leveraged and inverse ETPs generally seek to achieve specified multiples or inverse results over a single trading day, and their longer-term performance can differ significantly from the performance of their underlying benchmarks.

FINRA’s findings reportedly involved a failure to understand the risks of the products and to adequately consider customers’ investment profiles when making recommendations.

For investors, these allegations raise important questions about whether a broker understood the investments being recommended, evaluated the risks of holding them over extended periods, and considered whether the recommendations were appropriate for each customer’s financial circumstances and investment objectives.

Retirees and Conservative Investors Among the Customers

According to published reports, most of the 81 customers involved had moderate or conservative risk tolerances, and 59 were senior investors. Some customers reportedly held the products for nearly four years, while most held them for at least one year.

These circumstances highlight an important issue for investors: a product that may be designed for short-term trading can expose a long-term investor to risks that differ substantially from those of conventional investments.

Investors who depend on their portfolios for retirement income, living expenses, or preservation of principal may face serious financial consequences when complex products do not perform as expected.

A broker’s recommendation should account for the customer’s objectives, financial situation, risk tolerance, investment time horizon, and understanding of the product’s risks. A recommendation that does not adequately account for these factors may warrant further investigation.

Regulation Best Interest and Broker Responsibilities

Regulation Best Interest requires broker-dealers and their associated persons to act in the best interest of retail customers when making securities recommendations, subject to the rule’s requirements.

The rule addresses obligations involving disclosure, care, conflicts of interest, and compliance. FINRA Rule 2010 separately requires FINRA members to observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade.

The reported disciplinary action against Sandeman involved violations of Regulation Best Interest and FINRA Rule 2010.

Investors who suffered losses after receiving recommendations involving volatility-linked ETPs, leveraged ETPs, inverse ETPs, or other complex securities may wish to examine whether their brokers adequately explained the risks and considered their individual investment profiles.

Wedbush Securities Employment History and Customer Complaint

Sandeman was registered with Wedbush Securities from December 2000 until January 2025. According to his BrokerCheck record, Wedbush reported his termination in January 2025, citing a “lack of confidence related to performance.”

His BrokerCheck report also lists customer dispute disclosures. One complaint filed in October 2024 involved alleged losses associated with exchange-traded fund and exchange-traded note holdings. The reported claim sought $350,000 and settled for $30,000; Sandeman reportedly did not contribute to the settlement.

Can Investors Recover Losses From Unsuitable Investment Recommendations?

Investors who suffered losses after a broker recommended complex exchange-traded products may have grounds to investigate a potential securities claim. The availability of recovery depends on the facts of each investment, the applicable legal standards, and the evidence supporting the claim.

An investigation may consider:

• Whether the broker understood the product’s structure, risks, and intended holding period.
• Whether the recommendations were consistent with the investor’s objectives, risk tolerance, age, financial circumstances, and time horizon.
• Whether the broker adequately explained the risks of holding the products over extended periods.
• Whether the brokerage firm met its supervisory and compliance obligations.
• Whether the investor’s losses resulted from unsuitable recommendations or other actionable misconduct.

Depending on the circumstances, investors may be able to pursue claims through FINRA arbitration against a responsible broker-dealer. The existence of a FINRA disciplinary action does not automatically entitle every investor to compensation, and each claim requires an individual evaluation.

Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A. Investigates Investment Losses

Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A., a St. Petersburg, Florida law firm with a national practice representing investors, investigates potential claims involving unsuitable investment recommendations, broker misconduct, and brokerage firm supervision.

Investors who lost money after receiving recommendations involving volatility-linked exchange-traded products, leveraged investments, or other complex securities may benefit from having their accounts and transaction histories reviewed.

Call Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A. at 800-500-4442 for a free evaluation of your potential investment loss claim.

If you believe your financial adviser recommended investments that were inconsistent with your financial circumstances or risk tolerance, contact Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A. to discuss your situation and potential recovery options.

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 $600 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 10/12/26. If you believe this information was reported incorrectly, please contact our firm: 1-800-500-4442.