STIFEL FINED $300K BY GALVIN WHILE INVESTMENT ADVISOR IS CHARGED OVER IMPROPER BUSINESS ARRANGEMENT

According to a newspaper report known as ThinkAdvisor, a top Massachusetts’ police officer is currently investigating Stifel, and an investment advisor who had a deal with the company to manage all his clients’ trading.
The publication cited a complaint filed by William Galvin of the office of Massachusetts Secretary of State which claimed that Francis Weller Jr. of Orleans, Mass., and his firm, Weller Asset Management, allegedly had an agreement with Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. and one of its representatives.
As regards the publication, the agreement stated that while Weller’s clients will have their trading accounts managed by Stifel in exchange for Weller making use of the company’s resources.
Thinkadvisor also referred to a complaint which alleged that while Stifel’s representative collected full-service commissions on his stock picks, Weller charged his clients a certain amount as management fee.
According to the publication, the complaint further alleges that Weller also violated state regulations because of his failure to disclose the details of the arrangement to his clients who paid over $1 million to Stifel and its representatives in commission and advisory fees running into hundreds of thousands of dollars to Weller from 2012 to 2017.
The paper also said it wasn't able to reach Stifel for comment on the matter.
ThinkAdvisor reported that the company agreed to pay a fine of $300,000, bring an external auditor to crosscheck every trade involving Weller and to desist from violating any of the laws again and make amends on any illicit trade carried out in the past.
The publication futher stated that Galvin is seeking a cease and desist order against Weller, an administrative fine, revocation of his license to practice and surrendering of any money he has acquired illegally.