Litigation Releases (Cary Edward Urich)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26681 / October 30, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Cary Edward Urich, 6:26-cv-05267-JDA (D.S.C. filed Oct. 29, 2026)

SEC Charges Investment Adviser for Alleged Breaches of Fiduciary Duty in Connection with Unsuitable Investments in Leveraged and Inverse ETFs

On October 29, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Greenville, South Carolina-based investment adviser Cary Urich for alleged breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with his use of leveraged and/or inverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in discretionary client accounts while Urich was an investment adviser representative at United Planners' Financial Services of America A LP ("United Planners").

According to the SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, from April 2020 to November 2023, Urich used his discretionary authority over the accounts of 54 investment advisory clients-most of whom were elderly-to put large concentrations of those clients' savings and retirement funds into complex leveraged and/or inverse ETFs that did not suit the clients' investment profiles, objectives, or risk tolerances. The complaint alleges that the prospectuses for the leveraged and/or inverse ETFs and relevant regulatory notices and alerts, which Urich reviewed before investing his clients' funds in the ETFs, cautioned against investing in the funds for longer than one day due to the heightened risks involved. According to the complaint, despite these warnings, Urich held the products in client accounts for an average of 798 days. The complaint further alleges that Urich failed to disclose to the impacted clients that he held these positions in a manner that was inconsistent with the short-term holding period recommended in the leveraged and inverse ETFs' prospectuses and in the regulatory guidance, and also failed to disclose the negative historical returns associated with these investments. According to the complaint, as a result of this conduct, the 54 impacted clients lost approximately 70% of their investments in the products.

Without admitting the allegations, Urich consented to the entry of a final judgment, subject to court approval, that would permanently enjoin him from violating the antifraud provisions of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940; enjoin him from acting as or associating with an investment adviser for two years; and imposing a civil money penalty of $100,000.

In a related administrative proceeding, the Commission instituted settled proceedings against United Planners arising out of the same conduct.

The SEC previously issued an Investor Bulletin educating investors about leveraged and inverse ETFs and the risks associated with them.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by staff in its Los Angeles Regional Office, including Robert Stillwell and Daniel Lim, and supervised by Sarah Nilson and Brent Wilner. The investigative team appreciates the assistance of Artur Minkin and Ignacio Franceschelli of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. The SEC's examination that led to the investigation was conducted by Christopher Wacker and supervised by Dara Campbell.