A broker persuaded the Potter family to get rid of the sign, and it was removed yesterday without ceremony.

In the scheme, he said, brokers at Monroe Parker would persuade a client to open an account by offering blue-chip stocks, like I.B.M., as the bait.

Churning occurs when brokers persuade clients to trade frequently for no good economic reason.

In the schemes, bogus companies often enlist insurance agents or brokers, who sometimes do not even know that they are taking part, to persuade clients to make large investments ostensibly guaranteeing high returns, law enforcement officials said.

The broker persuaded her to invest in a small high-tech company that was supposed to be bought out by Microsoft.

THE first fateful decision by investors who lost billions of dollars in limited partnerships from Prudential Securities was made the day their brokers persuaded them to buy the risky investments.

The fraud and breach-of-contract suit, filed on Tuesday, charges that the broker, Barbara Guggenheim, persuaded Mr. Stallone to pay $1.8 million for one painting that she told him was an excellent investment.

In a nutshell, Ms. Strobel's broker persuaded her to sell an investment property and buy volatile stocks and mutual fund shares with heavy sales charges.

And, he helped the brokers persuade Bertelsmann that the banks would give them a fairly low price on the building if they backed off on the lease-takeover requirement for the 666 Fifth space.

Ms. Morgenson concludes that the broker persuaded her (against her wishes, we must presume) to sell safe investments and buy volatile stocks.