A recently filed FINRA customer complaint against Insigneo Securities alleges account mismanagement and short trading by broker Felipe Henao. The claim appears to arise at least in part from a February 28, 2020 short trade placed by Henao for 20,000 shares in the Barclays Bk VIX Short-Term Futures ETN in his customer’s Zaphiro Investments’ account. Subsequently, on March 17, 2020, Henao placed a trade to cover the short.
The customer then raised concerns in an email to Henao about the management and the overall performance of the brokerage account on or around August 19, 2020. The customer indicated that he was underwhelmed by the fluctuations and volatility in the Zaphiro account, which suffered substantial account value depreciation. The customer also complained about Henao’s lack of communication. Insigneo Securities reviewed and responded to the customer’s complaint on September 2, 2020. The FINRA complaint was filed on September 8, 2020.
If you have lost money with Felipe Henao or Insigneo Securities, contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.
The VIX, or “Fear Index,” measures market volatility and investors’ sentiments about the stock market. It assesses the 30-day expected volatility of the U.S. stock market from the S&P 500 Index call and put options. VIX futures allow market participants to engage in the trading of liquid volatility products. VIX futures reflect the market’s estimate of the VIX Index value on different future expiration dates.
Exchange-traded notes (ETNs) are unsecured debt obligations of an issuer – similar to bonds – and are traded on major exchanges like a stock. They track a benchmark Index. Unlike bonds, however, they do not provide interest payments to holders. ETNs are risky and offer no principal protection.
In a short trade, a broker borrows shares hoping to profit from declining prices. A broker sells the borrowed shares and buys back the borrowed securities to cover the short (aka “short covering”). This closes the open short position. Depending on the broker’s bet, it may be closed at a profit or a loss. It is a speculative trading strategy.
Financial Advisor Felipe Henao (CRD#: 5140431)
Felipe Henao has been registered with Insigneo Securities since January 2016 in Miami, FL. He was previously registered with the following firms:
- HB Asset Management, L.C., Miami, FL (February 2016 – February 2017);
- Bolton Global Asset Management, Miami, FL (March 2011 – December 2015);
- Bolton Global Capital, Miami, FL (February 2011 – December 2015);
- Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., Miami, FL (May 2007 – January 2011); and
- Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., Miami, FL (February 2007 – January 2011).
If you have lost money with Felipe Henao or Insigneo Securities, contact New York securities arbitration lawyer Jorge Altamirano of Iorio Altamirano LLP at jorge@ia-law.com or toll-free at (855) 430-4010 for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.
Iorio Altamirano LLP is a securities arbitration law firm based in New York, NY. We pursue FINRA arbitration claims nationwide on behalf of investors to recover financial losses arising out of wrongful conduct by financial advisors and brokerage firms.