Secretary of State’s Securities Division settles with Missouri firm

Jefferson City, Mo. — Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s securities division announced that the Raymond James & Associates wealth management firm has settled allegations over failure to supervise at least one of its former agents in the firm’s St. Louis office who engaged in discretionary trading without obtaining prior customer authorization.

According to the consent order signed August 2, Ashcroft’s office found that between December 2018 and June 2020, Raymond James repeatedly ignored red flags regarding conduct of the agent and failed to reasonably take corrective action to safeguard customer accounts from potential harm.

The division also found that Raymond James’ written supervisory procedures at the time did little more than recite the applicable rules and did not adequately communicate to supervisory staff the steps the firm would take when potential regulatory issues were identified.

Raymond James, without admitting or denying the securities division’s findings, agreed to pay $150,000 to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Investor Education and Protection Fund to settle the matter.

“Our office will pursue anyone whose unlawful actions harm the integrity of the financial marketplace or place investors at risk,” Ashcroft said. “If someone offers you an investment opportunity, always check with our office if you have misgivings.”

Ashcroft urges investors to call the toll-free investor protection hotline at 800-721-7996 or go online to www.missouriprotectsinvestors.com for more information or to file a complaint.