Jeffrey Pederson PC is investigating and interested in speaking to investors of William H. McWilliams, formerly of Raymond James and currently of Stifel Nicolaus. This is in wake of a regulatory AWC entered into by William McWilliams with FINRA that alleges unauthorized trading by McWilliams. FINRA is the regulatory agency that oversees investment brokers.
FINRA alleged that from August 2014 through December 2014, McWilliams exercised discretionary trading authority without obtaining prior written authorization from the customers and the Firm at least 28 times in eight customer accounts. As a result of such conduct, McWilliams violated regulatory rules NASD Rule 2510(b) and FINRA Rule 2010. These are rules that all securities brokers must follow.
NASD Rule 2510(b) mandates, “No member or registered representative shall exercise any discretionary power in a customer’s account unless such customer has given prior written authorization to a stated individual or individuals and the account has been accepted by the member, as evidenced in writing by the member or the partner, officer or manager, duly designated by the member, in accordance with Rule 3010.”
NASD Rule 2510(d)(I) states, that the written authorization requirement does not apply to “discretion as to the price at which or the time when an order given by a customer for the purchase or sale ofa definite amount ofa specified security shall be executed, except that the authority to exercise time and price discretion will be considered to be in effect only until the end ofthe business day on which the customer granted such discretion, absent a specific, written contrary indication signed and dated by the customer.”
FINRA Rule 2010 requires associated persons to observe high standards of commercial honor andjust and equitab!e principles oftrade.
During the Relevant Period, while employed at Raymond James, McWilliams exercised discretionary trading authority in response to customer liquidation requests at least six times in four Firm customer accounts without obtaining prior written authorization from the customers and without having the accounts accepted as discretionary accounts by Raymond James.
McWilliams also inappropriately exercised discretion at least 22 times in four other customer accounts. ln these instances, McWilliams failed to discuss the subject trades with the customers on the day ofthe transaction and the Firm prohibited the use ofdiscretion in these circumstances. By virtue ofexercising discretion in the accounts of eight customers without written authorization, McWilliams violated NASD Rule 2510(b) and FlNRA Rule 2010.
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