CETERA FINANCIAL SPECIALISTS Censured and Fined $200K by FINRA

CETERA FINANCIAL SPECIALISTS LLC CRD# 10358 SEC# 8-27082, was recently censured by FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc., and also fined $200,000, for supervisory failures in connection with its brokers' outside business activities.
The allegations, in part, were as follows: “The firm consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that it failed to establish, maintain and enforce a supervisory system, including WSPs, reasonably designed to consider whether a firm registered representative’s outside business activities would interfere with or compromise his responsibilities to the firm or customers and evaluate the advisability of imposing specific conditions or limitations on its representatives’ outside business activities.  The findings stated that a representative disclosed his power-of-attorney over two clients’ accounts to the firm on three occasions.”
According to FINRA, between January 2012 and December 2014, allegedly Cetera "failed to establish, maintain and enforce a supervisory system, including written supervisory procedures," that would reasonably consider whether its brokers' outside activities would interfere with or compromise their responsibilities to their clients and Cetera.”
This case was due to the alleged actions of Cetera broker, Alex P. Anderson, who was the power of attorney over the accounts of two elderly clients, a 94 year-old woman and her 75 year-old son-in-law. Alex P. Anderson was also the beneficiary of the elderly woman's estate. On April 22, 2015, Anderson was barred from the securities industry and the FINRA findings stated that he allegedly misused at least $75,500 from the elderly woman's bank account for his own personal use.
FINRA stated that prior to the actions alleged, Alex P. Anderson had disclosed the nature and his outside relationships with these clients to Cetera on three occasions.
Cetera’ Main Office Location:
200 NORTH MARTINGALE ROAD
SEVENTH FLOOR
SCHAUMBURG, IL 60173
If you experienced similar losses due to the actions or recommendations of CETERA FINANCIAL SPECIALISTS LLC, contact Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer at no cost regarding the possible recovery of your financial losses through a FINRA arbitration at:  888-760-6552. 
Soreide Law Group represents our clients nationally before FINRA.  We work on a contingency fee basis, which means no fee to you if no recovery.