Former Morgan Stanley Advisor Wendell Kucker Has Long History of Customer Disputes

Wendell Kucker (CRD# 711494[1]) recently left his position at Morgan Stanley in Modesto, California and is currently not registered as a broker or an investment adviser. According to his Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) BrokerCheck report, he has been involved in numerous customer complaints that resolved with settlements paid to the customer.

Complaints Allege Concentration, Churning, Negligence

FINRA records disclose eleven customer complaints involving Wendell Kucker, all filed between 1993 and 2001. The complaints detail allegations including unsuitable investment recommendations, unsuitable concentration of securities, misrepresentation of material facts, negligence, churning, and breach of the broker’s fiduciary duty to act in the customer’s best interests. Taken together, the complaints settled for more than $699,000.

Making Sense of the Complaints Against Wendell Kucker

The complaints involving Wendell Kucker relate to a number of common forms of broker fraud. Unsuitable recommendations, for instance, refers to the recommendation of investments considered inappropriate for the client’s individual set of needs and goals, as delineated by their investment profile. Concentration refers to the unsuitable placement of too many of a customer’s assets in a single security or sector, exposing the portfolio to the risk of potentially substantial losses if that security or sector performs poorly. Churning, finally, describes the execution of a high number of trades with the goal of generating commission fees for the broker, either with intent to defraud the customer or with reckless disregard for their interests.

Wendell Kucker No Longer Licensed with Morgan Stanley

According to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) records, Wendell Kucker’s 41 years of securities industry experience began in 1980, when he joined the IDS Life Insurance Company. Over the following decades he went on to work with firms like Bateman Eichler Hill Richards, Prudential Securities, Lehman Brothers, and Citigroup Global Markets. His most recent affiliation was with Morgan Stanley, where he was registered as a broker from 2009 until his departure in November 2021. Records show that he has passed five securities industry examinations and is currently not registered in any state or firm.

For more information about Wendell Kucker’s registration history, including the eleven customer complaints involving him, visit his FINRA-maintained BrokerCheck report[2]. (The above-referenced information was accessed on December 8, 2021.)

MDF Law is currently investigating allegations regarding Wendell Kucker. Did You Lose Money with Your Investment? Contact us.