Royal Gregory Fisher, of Traverse City, Michigan, a stockbroker previously registered with SagePoint Financial Inc., was fined $5,000.00 and suspended for two months from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity because he engaged in unauthorized activities with a customer of the securities broker dealer. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 2021071152401 (November 13, 2023).
According to the AWC, he acted as a trusted advisor for a customer who wasn’t a relative and accepted being named as a beneficiary in that customer’s accounts. The customer granted Fisher power of attorney and named him as the first successor trustee of their revocable living trust. Fisher was also named as a beneficiary of the trust, inheriting over $100,000.
Following the customer’s death, Fisher became the primary trustee of the trust and the executor of the customer’s estate. The regulator also stated that Fisher signed annual compliance questionnaires affirming that he had complied with firm policies. FINRA found that Fisher violated Rule 2010.
FINRA Public Disclosure also shows that on April 20, 2023, a customer alleged that Fisher provided unsuitable advice by recommending the exchange of a whole life policy with a variable life policy. The customer requested more than $5,000.00 in damages. The firm denied the claim on April 27, 2023.
Fisher was discharged by SagePoint Financial on April 15, 2021, for allegedly acting as a trustee and beneficiary on a client account without prior notification or approval from the firm.
Fisher was associated with SagePoint Financial from October 2008 to April 2021. He has been registered with McNally Financial Services Corporation since April 16, 2021.
