Introduction
You trust your bank or investment advisor to make recommendations in your best interest. But many large banks and broker-dealers design and sell their own proprietary products — creating built-in conflicts of interest that can leave you with steep losses.
When a firm is incentivized to push its own products over safer, more suitable options, you may be the one paying the price.
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How Proprietary Products Work
Many major financial institutions — like Wells Fargo, UBS, Santander, Merrill Lynch, and others — develop and market structured notes, proprietary mutual funds, and alternative investments under their own brand.
These products often generate:
• Higher commissions for your advisor
• Management fees for the firm
• Revenue-sharing deals behind the scenes
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Why This Creates a Conflict of Interest
When a firm’s profits are tied to selling you their in-house product, they have less incentive to offer you better or safer alternatives.
For example:
• Instead of recommending high-quality municipal bonds or U.S. Treasury bills that align with a conservative investor’s goals, your advisor may push you toward a complex structured note or an illiquid private placement with higher risk — but bigger commissions.
• They may downplay the risks, fail to explain the lack of liquidity, or simply omit alternatives that would have served you better.
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Signs You May Have Been Harmed
• Your portfolio includes complex or proprietary products you didn’t fully understand.
• You weren’t told about lower-risk options that would have met your goals.
• Your advisor failed to disclose they earned more for selling you in-house products.
• You lost significant money on investments that didn’t match your risk tolerance.
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Fiduciary Duties and the Suitability Rule
Broker-dealers have a duty to recommend only investments that are suitable for your financial goals and risk profile.
Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) owe an even higher fiduciary duty — they must always act in your best interest, free from undisclosed conflicts.
When institutions fail to disclose incentives or conflicts, they can be held accountable through FINRA arbitration or civil litigation.
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What You Can Do
Check your statements for proprietary or “in-house” products.
Ask your advisor if they earned more on those investments than on other options.
Contact a securities lawyer to evaluate your case. Many unsuitable investment claims against large banks and broker-dealers can lead to meaningful recoveries.
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How We Help
We focus on helping investors recover losses when banks and RIAs put profits first. We understand how proprietary products are structured and sold, and how to prove your advisor or institution failed to put your interests ahead of their own.
If you suspect you lost money because your bank sold you an unsuitable in-house product, contact us for a confidential review.
