The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Greenville, South Carolina investment adviser Cary Edward Urich with fraud. The case stems from 54 advisory clients, most of them elderly, who lost roughly 70 percent of their money in unsuitable leveraged and inverse ETFs. Urich has consented to a permanent injunction and a $100,000 civil penalty, and his former firm, United Planners’ Financial Services of America, settled related charges for $600,000.
What happened in the Cary Urich case
The SEC’s complaint, filed October 29, 2026, in the District of South Carolina, describes an adviser who placed 54 discretionary advisory clients into leveraged and inverse ETFs between April 2020 and November 2023. Most of the clients were elderly and had granted Urich full discretion over their accounts.
Leveraged and inverse ETFs are built to multiply or reverse an index’s single-day move. The funds’ prospectuses warned that the products should not be held longer than one day. Urich held the positions an average of 798 days.
Clients lost approximately 70 percent of the money invested in the products. The SEC charged Urich with violating Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the law’s core antifraud provisions.
Key facts in the SEC’s case against Cary Urich
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Defendant | Cary Edward Urich, Greenville, South Carolina (CRD# 2132001) |
| Former firm | United Planners’ Financial Services of America, Scottsdale, Arizona (CRD# 20804) |
| Conduct period | April 2020 through November 2023 |
| Advisory clients affected | 54, most of them elderly |
| Average holding period | 798 days in funds designed for one day |
| Client losses | About 70 percent of the invested funds |
| Civil case | SEC v. Cary Edward Urich, No. 6:26-cv-05267-JDA (D.S.C., filed Oct. 29, 2026) |
| Urich settlement terms | Permanent injunction, two-year industry ban, $100,000 civil penalty |
| Firm settlement terms | Cease-and-desist order, censure, $600,000 civil penalty |
Why leveraged and inverse ETFs destroyed this money
Leveraged ETFs use borrowed capital and derivatives to deliver two or three times an index’s daily return. Inverse ETFs profit when an index falls, and they carry the same daily-reset design.
The daily reset is the trap. A fund that doubles each day’s move bleeds value in choppy, sideways markets even when the underlying index ends the week flat. That is why the prospectuses warn against holding these products beyond a single trading day.
Urich’s clients held for an average of 798 days, roughly 800 times the holding period the documents describe. The mathematical decay did the rest.
United Planners agreed to a $600,000 penalty
In a related settled administrative proceeding, the SEC found that United Planners willfully violated Advisers Act Section 206(2), Section 206(4), and Rule 206(4)-7. The agency said the firm failed to implement written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violations of the Advisers Act.
United Planners accepted a cease-and-desist order, a censure, and a $600,000 civil penalty. The firm, registered with the SEC since 2000, manages roughly $12.8 billion and fields nearly 600 advisory representatives.
The firm’s public regulatory file shows earlier supervision problems. BrokerCheck records include settled state matters in Arizona and Massachusetts involving supervisory failures.
Red flags investors can learn from this case
- Complex products in conservative accounts. Leveraged and inverse ETFs belong in short-term tactical trading, not retirement portfolios.
- Holding-period mismatch. When a prospectus describes a one-day design, holding the fund for years is a red flag on its face.
- Discretion without review. Elderly investors who grant trading authority should arrange an independent annual account review.
- Unexplained steady losses. Deep losses across accounts holding identical products deserve written questions now, not later.
What affected investors can do now
Clients who invested with Urich should assemble account statements covering April 2020 through November 2023, along with every written recommendation they received. Urich’s registration history is listed on FINRA BrokerCheck under CRD# 2132001.
Investors with losses tied to unsuitable leveraged ETF recommendations may hold claims against both the adviser and the supervising firm. FINRA arbitration generally requires claims within six years of the conduct, so delay shrinks the available options.
How to recover your losses
Haselkorn & Thibaut fights for investor recovery
Haselkorn & Thibaut is a securities law firm founded by former Wall Street defense attorneys who shifted their practice to represent investors. The firm has recovered over $520 million for clients in securities matters and maintains a 98 percent success rate in resolved nontraded REIT cases. Attorneys are AV Preeminent rated through Martindale-Hubbell, designated as Super Lawyers, and hold a 5.0-star client review average. The firm operates on a contingency basis, which means no recovery, no fee.
Contact Haselkorn & Thibaut today
Time matters in investment recovery cases. The earlier you act, the stronger your position. The firm offers a free case evaluation to assess your losses, review your account history, and explain your options under arbitration or settlement.
- Main Phone: 1-888-885-7162
- website for a free consultation
Offices in Florida, New York, Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina. Former Wall Street defense attorneys with 95+ years of combined experience. No recovery, no fee.
Frequently asked questions about the Cary Urich case
Who is Cary Urich?
Cary Edward Urich is a Greenville, South Carolina investment adviser, CRD# 2132001. During the period in the SEC’s complaint, he served as an investment adviser representative at United Planners’ Financial Services of America.
How much did investors lose in the Urich case?
The SEC alleges 54 clients lost about 70 percent of the money placed in leveraged and inverse ETFs. Urich consented to a permanent injunction, a two-year ban from the advisory industry, and a $100,000 civil penalty.
What can I do if Cary Urich managed my account?
Gather statements, document the recommendations you received, and speak with a securities attorney about FINRA arbitration before filing deadlines run.
AlphaBetaStock publishes news and commentary for informational purposes only. Nothing here is legal or investment advice, and reading it creates no attorney-client relationship. The allegations described above come from the SEC’s complaint and settled orders.
