Gary Delfino, of Bedminster, New Jersey, a stockbroker with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., was fined $5,000.00 and suspended from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member firm in any capacity after consenting to findings that he engaged in unauthorized discretionary trading in customer accounts. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent, No. 2015047790401 (July 11, 2016).
According to the AWC, from March 2015 through August of 2015, at a time when Delfino was registered with Ameriprise Financial Services, he had engaged in the unauthorized discretionary trading in four of Ameriprise’s customer accounts. Apparently, Delfino had effected a total of seven transactions in the affected customers’ accounts.
The AWC stated that with each of the aforementioned transactions, Delfino did not gain the proper written approval from his clients before effecting the transactions. Additionally, Ameriprise had not deemed the customer accounts to be discretionary by accepting them as such in writing. FINRA found that Delfino’s unauthorized trading in this regard constituted violations of FINRA Rules 2010 as well as NASD Conduct Rule 2510(b).
Prior to the FINRA action resulting in Delfino’s suspension and fine, he was terminated by Ameriprise Financial Services on October 16, 2015, amid allegations of violating the firm’s policies concerning utilizing discretion in accounts which were non-discretionary.
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