Steven Michael Richardson, of Walnut Creek, California, a stockbroker formerly registered with Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner Smith Inc., is the subject of a customer initiated investment related written complaint which was settled for $320,000.00 in damages on October 11, 2019, based upon accusations of Richardson’s excessive trading of exchange-traded funds for the customer’s account while he was associated with Merrill Lynch.
This is not the first customer dispute concerning allegations of Richardson’s improper activities at a securities broker dealer. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Public Disclosure shows that on March 4, 2019, a customer filed an investment related complaint involving Richardson’s activities where they requested compensatory damages based upon accusations of Richardson’s unsuitable investment recommendations relating to ETFs for the customer’s Merrill Lynch account.
On June 11, 2018, Richardson’s stockbroker and investment adviser representative registrations with Merrill Lynch were terminated. He has been a stockbroker and investment adviser representative of LPL Financial since June 7, 2018.
