According to FINRA, D. Allen Blankenship was named in a complaint alleging he engaged in unsuitable short-term trading of mutual funds by effecting trades in customer accounts that lacked a reasonable basis. The complaint alleges holding periods for these trades ranged from 119 to 364 days, resulting in sales charges of $21,158.45 paid by customers and generating commissions of $16,014.16 for Blankenship.

The complaint further alleges that Blankenship recommended mutual fund purchases where he failed to ensure customers received $21,873.91 in available mutual fund breakpoints. Breakpoints are volume discounts on sales charges that investors are entitled to receive when their purchases reach certain thresholds. Failing to ensure customers receive these discounts means they paid higher fees than necessary.

Additionally, the complaint alleges Blankenship circumvented his firm's supervisory procedures by intentionally dividing customers' mutual fund investments into multiple purchases under $20,000 to avoid completing required forms and evade supervisory review for suitability. This practice, sometimes called breaking up orders