Waruna Tivanka Ellawala – and the firm that employs him or her – is regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
If you are like most people, before you go out to dinner at a new restaurant, you probably take a quick look at the reviews. This makes sense; you are going to pay for an expensive dinner, and you need to be sure that you are getting a good value.
Yet, when choosing a financial advisor, many people fail to conduct this same level of due diligence. Before turning over access to your money, you need to be sure that you have found a financial advisor that you can trust. Here, our audit report, including details of allegations, complaints, and sanctions will help you decide whether or not to invest with Waruna Tivanka Ellawala.
The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient… Warren Buffet
BrokerComplaints.com is currently investigating allegations related to Waruna Tivanka Ellawala. We provide a free platform for investors to help them in their claims against negligent brokers and brokerage firms.
About Waruna Ellawala
Waruna Tivanka Ellawala is an Investment Adviser. Waruna Tivanka Ellawala’s Central Registration Depository (CRD) number is 2777706 and the FINRA Profile can be found at – https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/2777706.
Click here to download a Detailed Audit Report for Waruna Tivanka Ellawala.
Waruna Tivanka Ellawala has previously been reprimanded and has disclosures and/or client dispute(s) listed at FINRA BrokerCheck.
Accusations and Disclosures
You can find below, a quick snapshot of Waruna Tivanka Ellawala’s regulatory actions, arbitrations, and complaints.
DISCLOSURE 1 –
- Event Date: 8/21/2018
- Disclosure Type: Regulatory
- Resolution: Final
- Initiated By: UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
- Allegations: SEC Admin Release 33-10534, 34-83894 / August 21, 2018: The Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) deems it appropriate and in the public interest that cease-and-desist proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act), against Waruna Tivanka Ellawalla ( espondent). The Commission finds that during the period from October 2013 through February 2015 (the elevant Period), Ellawala was the Chief Financial Officer of Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc. (Endurance). Endurance describes itself as a provider of cloud-based platform solutions such as web hosting and domain registration services to small- and medium-sized businesses. As such, it derived most of its revenue from offering subscription based software solutions. During the Relevant Period, the company disclosed and reported its subscriber count and its average revenue per subscriber to the investing public, including through its required quarterly and annual filings with the Commission. In the quarterly and annual reports, the company identified its subscriber count and average revenue per subscriber as two of the key metrics it used to evaluate the operating and financial performance of its business, identify trends affecting its business, develop projections and make strategic business decisions. At times during the Relevant Period, Endurance made material misrepresentations and omissions about the company’s subscriber metrics. Due to an error first identified by Endurance in May 2014, Endurance overstated its subscriber count in its required periodic filings with the Commission from the time of its initial public offering of stock in October 2013 to the filing of its periodic report for the third quarter of fiscal year 2014 in November 2014. In addition, when Endurance corrected the overstatement in connection with the filing of its periodic report with the Commission for fiscal year 2014 in February 2015, the company made additional material misstatements and omissions which failed to disclose the fact of the correction and the impact of the correction on the company’s publicly reported operating metrics. The Commission has previously addressed Endurance’s violations of the federal securities laws arising out of this conduct. See In the Matter of Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc. and Constant Contact, Inc., AP File No. 3-18531, June 5, 2018. In May 2014, and thereafter during the Relevant Period, Ellawala received information concerning Endurance’s efforts to quantify and address its subscriber error. While in possession of information regarding the subscriber error, Ellawala reported Endurance’s overstated subscriber metrics to the investing public in quarterly earnings calls. In addition, he signed certifications as to the effectiveness of Endurance’s disclosure controls and the accuracy of Endurance’s periodic report for fiscal year 2014. As a result of the conduct described, Ellawala violated Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act. Ellawala was also a cause of Endurance’s violations of Sections 13(a) and Section 13(b)(2)(A) of the Exchange Act and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11, and 13a-13 thereunder.
- Resolution: Order |Sanctions: Cease and Desist Sanctions: Civil and Administrative Penalty(ies)/Fine(s) |Amount: $17,000.00 Sanctions: Disgorgement |Amount: $15,566.77 Sanctions: Monetary Penalty other than Fines |Amount: $1,785.45
According to a study prepared for the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, 80 percent of American investors report that they have been solicited to participate in a fraud scheme, while 11 percent of American investors report that they personally lost money as a result of fraud.
FINRA notes that the rate of investment fraud is most likely much higher than it is reported. This is because many victims of financial advisor scams are too ashamed to come forward. Further, the study also found that a significant number of investors do not know how to spot common red flags of investment fraud. The least you should do is share your experience with other potential victims of investment scams.
Previous Associations
Under federal securities law and securities industry regulations, registered investment firms have a legal duty to supervise their financial advisors. Section 15(b)(4)(E) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 makes a securities firm liable for the conduct of representatives.
- MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED (CRD#: 7691) :: 9/3/1996 – 8/27/1999 :: NEW YORK, NY
The duty to supervise securities representatives is a strong legal requirement. Registered investment firms must take many different steps to ensure that they are protecting their customers from irresponsible and criminal financial advisors.
Legit or Not?
Unfortunately, stockbroker fraud is more common than many investors would like to think. And yes, stockbrokers (including Waruna Tivanka Ellawala, but not limited to) can (and do) steal money from their clients. While it’s rare that a broker will literally steal his client’s money (though that does happen), typically the “theft” of investment funds comes in the form of other fraudulent violations of securities law and FINRA rules which leads to significant investment losses.
Sometimes investment losses occur because advisors, stockbrokers, and even brokerage firms, commit fraud. Massimo Vignelli
Investors generally understand that there are risks associated with buying and selling securities. The market can go up, and the market can go down. No matter how skilled of an investor you are, there are always risks. With that being said, sometimes investment losses cannot be blamed on simple back luck.
There are 10 major types of complaints we receive against Investment Brokers –
- Outright Theft (Conversion of Funds)
- Unauthorized Trading
- Misrepresentation or Omission of Material Facts
- Excessive Trading (Churning)
- Lack of Diversification
- Unsuitable Investment Recommendations
- Failure to Disclose a Personal Conflict of Interest
- Front Running of Transactions
- Breakpoint Sale Violations
- Negligent Portfolio Management
Do your due diligence before investing. Public records are available for everybody to review and decide on the safest bet.
How to Protect Yourself
We, as citizens, place a great deal of trust in the financial advisors who are tasked with helping us achieve and maintain financial security. Most of the time financial advisors and stockbrokers are honest folks who work diligently in their client’s best interests. However, on occasion financial advisors and the brokerage firms who employ them mess up and cause serious financial harm to their clients. Sometimes these losses are caused by simple negligence. Other times fraud or other serious misconduct is to blame.
Here are 5 signs that your broker needs to be reported –
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty: Under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, certain investment professionals, known as registered investment advisors (RIAs), owe fiduciary obligations to their customers. Your investment broker must always look out for your best interests. If you lost money because of your broker’s breach of fiduciary duty, you may be entitled to compensation for the full value of your damages.
- Unsuitable Investments: Many financial advisors are not fiduciaries. Instead, they are held to the suitability standard. These stockbrokers and financial advisors can only sell and recommend financial products that are appropriate for a customer’s unique investment profile. If you lost money in unsuitable investments, you should consider reporting them.
- Material Misrepresentations or Omissions: Brokers have a duty to make fair and honest representations to their clients. If they fail to do so, and an investor loses money due to a misrepresentation or a material omission, the broker may be liable for the investor’s losses.
- Lack of Diversification: Brokers must also act with the appropriate level of professional skill. Pushing a customer into over-concentrated investments is highly risky. Brokers can be held liable for losses sustained because of an investor’s inappropriate lack of diversification.
- Excessive Trading (Churning): Stockbrokers and financial advisors must have a well-grounded, reasonable basis to execute all trades. Unfortunately, there are cases in which brokers will frequently trade on a customer’s account, simply to increase their own fees. This unlawful practice is known as churning.
- Unauthorized Trading: Brokers must have the proper legal authority to make transactions on behalf of a client. If you lost money because your broker made trades that you never approved of, you may have been the victim of unauthorized trading. You should consult with an experienced attorney.
Report Waruna Ellawala
In order to prevail in an investment fraud lawsuit or FINRA arbitration cases, you must be able to assert a viable ‘cause of action’.
Waruna Tivanka Ellawala – and the firm that employs this broker – is regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). FINRA provides an online form to allow investors to file a formal complaint against their financial advisor, stockbroker, or brokerage firm.
Click here to go to FINRA’s Online Complaint Form →
This form will ask you for specific information related to your complaint. Be prepared by gathering the following:
- Name and symbol for the investment product in question.
- The CRD number (2777706) for the broker – Waruna Tivanka Ellawala
- Your complete contact information.
Remember, it is advised to report your broker to FINRA, only after you have exhausted all of your other remedies and carefully prepared a compelling complaint. Once you file a complaint against your broker at FINRA, your case will be bound by FINRA’s rules and the arbitration panel’s eventual decision. The time clock will start, and your complaint will be served on your broker or broker-dealer.
The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the source BrokerComplaints.com and do not necessarily reflect the official position of ‘The Skeptic Files,’ which shall not be held liable for any inaccuracies presented. The information provided within this article is for general informational purposes only. While we try to keep the information up-to-date and correct, there are no representations or warranties, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability of the information in this article for any purpose.
This article is syndicated automatically through a third-party agency from BrokerComplaints.com.
To view the original article at BrokerComplaints.com, you can visit https://brokercomplaints.com/report/waruna-tivanka-ellawala/.
