The research conducted by SLCG on "How Widespread and Predictable is Stock Broker Misconduct?" revealed that prior customer complaints against individual brokers can be indicative of future complaints. McCann, Qin, and Yan's findings indicate that including the complaint histories of co-workers significantly improves the ability to predict complaints against brokers who have not previously been complained about. They also concluded that customer complaints that were denied - not just settlements and awards - can effectively forecast future investor harm.

Egan, Matvos and Seru's results confirm that, rather than weeding bad brokers out of the industry, the regulatory environment and labor market sifts bad brokers down the quality ladder over time into brokerage firms who employ brokers with disproportionately higher numbers of customer complaints. These high-risk brokerage firms have loose hiring practices and lax compliance ethics and specialize in preying on unsophisticated investors.

According to Dimmock et al. [2016], in a related investigation, financial fraud exhibits a contagious nature. Their findings indicate that a broker's likelihood of perpetrating financial fraud is strongly influenced by the propensity of their colleagues to commit fraud, independent of factors such as firm culture, branch atmosphere, market conditions, and state regulatory policies.

Germaine Louise Broussards current employer, is one of the 30 highest risk brokerage firms measured by the percent of brokers at the firm who have customer complaints disclosed on their BrokerCheck reports. 16.81% of 's brokers have customer complaints compared to only 2.71% of all brokers who have complaints.

If you have questions about this post, about and/or Germaine Louise Broussard or about the management of your accounts, please contact SLCG for an initial consultation or email us at BrokerInquiry@SLCG.com.

SLCG Economic Consulting, LLC

For nearly 25 years, SLCG Economic Consulting, LLC ("SLCG") has provided consulting services to individuals, corporations and state and federal agencies mostly related to finance and economics. SLCG professionals include professionals with substantial academic and government experiences who conduct ongoing publishable research.

SLCG is a wholly owned subsidiary of McCann Yan Holdings, Inc., a Virginia incorporated company based in Northern Virginia.