NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Securities Arbitration Law Firm of Klayman & Toskes, P.A. (“K&T”), www.nasd-law.com, has opened an investigation into potential Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sales practice violations by Wells Fargo Advisors and its financial advisors for activities similar to those recently reported in The Charlotte Observer. According to reports, Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) used aggressive “cross-selling” tactics with its bank clients in order to open investment accounts through its brokerage firm, Wells Fargo Advisors. According to a former bank branch manager, new account goals had minimum sales requirements across all product lines which “became a living nightmare” for their branch to meet.

According to K&T founder, Lawrence L. Klayman, “Our investigation focuses on whether Wells Fargo Advisors had bank customers steered to open investment accounts with the brokerage firm through high pressure sales tactics motivated by contests which paid incentives to the referring employees.” Mr. Klayman continues, “Wells Fargo touted the contributions of ‘cross-selling’ to the bank’s profitability in public pronouncements to shareholders. In the pursuit of profits, investor rights may have been violated resulting in unsuitable investment recommendations.” Mr. Klayman explains, “Wells Fargo Advisors and its parent Wells Fargo bank, may have failed to supervise the ‘cross-selling’ activities of their bank employees and financial advisors and should be held responsible.”

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