Securities Arbitration Lawyer Blog
FINRA has suspended financial advisor Timothy David O’Brien from the securities industry for a 45-day period. He was also fined $10,000. O’Brien was registered with Feltl & Company in Inver Grove Heights, MN, from May 2012 until August 2020. He is currently not registered.
If you have lost money with Timothy David O’Brien, contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.
Timothy David O’Brien and FINRA entered into a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (“AWC”) on November 24, 2020, over allegations that O’Brien placed two unauthorized trades in a customer’s account in October 2017. Specifically, O’Brien sold a limited partnership position in a customer’s account and purchased Class A shares of a mutual fund. O’Brien did not have the authorization to make the transactions. He attempted to call the customer to discuss the trades but did not reach her before executing the transactions. The customer complained to Feltl about O’Brien’s unauthorized trades in her account but ultimately declined to reverse the transactions.
Feltl & Company is a full-service broker-dealer headquartered in Minnetonka, MN. The firm is registered with both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and FINRA.
If you have lost money with Timothy David O’Brien or Feltl & Company, contact New York securities arbitration lawyers Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.
Prior to the November 2020 FINRA AWC, O’Brien was disciplined by FINRA for similar misconduct. He entered into an AWC in December 2014, in which he agreed to a 10-day suspension and was fined $5,000. The allegations involved the same misconduct as that investigated by FINRA, namely, that between July 2012 and February 2013, O’Brien exercised discretion without written authorization in two customers’ accounts.
To exercise discretionary power, FINRA rules require that a broker have prior written authorization from a customer before executing a trade. A customer must sign a discretionary disclosure. A customer may also place limits on the discretion being granted to a broker. Additionally, before an account is approved for discretionary trading, it must be approved as such by the broker’s firm. A broker can then use their discretion and place trades without having to obtain the customer’s authorization first. Without such written authorization by the customer and firm approval, however, a broker who receives verbal authorization from a client to execute a trade and makes the transaction violates FINRA rules.
For transactions in non-discretionary accounts, customers retain discretion, and brokers must always obtain their customer’s permission prior to placing a trade.
Financial Advisor Timothy David O’Brien (CRD#: 1182298)
Timothy David O’Brien has been the subject of six customer complaints. The last complaint dated July 9, 2020, requested damages in the amount of $450,000. The matter was settled for $350,000. The complaint alleged unsuitable investment recommendations, over-concentration, and misrepresentation resulting in excessive losses.
O’Brien entered the securities industry in 1983 and was previously registered with the following firms:
- Feltl & Company, Inver Grove Heights, MN (May 2012 – August 2020);
- Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Edina, MN (January 2002 – May 2012);
- Prudential Securities Incorporated, New York, NY (January 1995 – January 2002);
- Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc., Purchase, NY (May 1990 – January 1995);
- Piper, Jaffray & Hopwood Incorporated, Minneapolis, MN (February 1988 – May 1990);
- E.F. Hutton & Company Inc. (October 1984 – February 1988); and
- Allison-Williams Company (October 1983 – October 1984).
If you have lost money with Timothy David O’Brien or Feltl & Company, contact New York securities arbitration lawyer Jorge Altamirano of Iorio Altamirano LLP at jorge@ia-law.com or toll-free at (855) 430-4010 for a free and confidential evaluation of your account.
Iorio Altamirano LLP is a securities arbitration law firm based in New York, NY. We pursue FINRA arbitration claims nationwide on behalf of investors to recover financial losses arising out of wrongful conduct by financial advisors and brokerage firms, including unauthorized trading.