Arlyn Roy Stokesbary of Slayton Minnesota a stockbroker formerly registered with Thrivent Investment Management Inc. has been fined $5,000.00 and suspended from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity founded on findings that Stokesbary executed unauthorized trades in customer accounts during the period in which he was associated with the firm. Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent No. 2018059898701 (Aug. 23, 2019).
According to the AWC, in August of 2017, Stokesbary was identified by the firm as having placed multiple trades within customer accounts in close succession to each other despite those customer accounts not being owned by related parties. The AWC stated that Stokesbary was asked by the firm about the trades at which point he admitted to making them without consulting with customers. Stokesbary lacked any written authorization from customers to make discretionary trades; conduct which ran afoul of the firm’s rules.
FINRA indicated that after Stokesbary was confronted by the firm, he effected one hundred nine trades in accounts owned by twenty customers. Those customers were not contacted by him on the days that the trades had been placed. The AWC stated that Stokesbary lacked any written approval from customers to warrant his discretionary trading. Moreover, Stokesbary failed to request any authorization from the firm in regard to his exercise of discretion. FINRA found Stokesbary’s trading violative of FINRA Rule 2010 and National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Rule 2510(b).
Stokesbary was terminated by Thrivent Investment Management Inc. on August 30, 2018 supported by allegations that he failed to cease trading in customer accounts in a manner which ran afoul of the firm’s policies especially after the firm had warned him about his improper trading.
