Oppenheimer & Co Inc must pay a total of nearly $1.2 million to a Texas-based investor in a dispute over allegations of excessive securities trading in his account, an arbitration panel has ruled. Lloyd Gillespie alleged Oppenheimer and two brokers generated $550,000 in sales commissions on a $2-million portfolio during a 2-1/2 year period. “Oppenheimer believes it had strong defenses to this action but has not reviewed the award and accordingly cannot comment on it,” an Oppenheimer spokesman said in a statement. The ruling was issued on Thursday by a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority panel. The case is an example of the extent to which excessive trading, also called "churning," can diminish the value of an investor's portfolio. "This was among the worst churning cases we’ve seen over the years," said Craig McCann, an economist based in Fairfax, Va., who testified on behalf of the investor. Trading costs ate away 20-percent of the investor's portfolio value, McCann
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