FINRA Bars Former Northwestern Mutual Advisor For Allegedly Cheating on CFP Exam

Posted on December 7th, 2022 at 1:52 PM
FINRA Bars Former Northwestern Mutual Advisor For Allegedly Cheating on CFP Exam

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has barred a former Northwestern Mutual advisor after he failed to cooperate with the regulator’s probe into the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards’ (CFP Board’s) decision to bar the advisor for alleged “exam misconduct.”

The former Northwestern Mutual advisor, Brandon Self, consented to the bar without admitting or denying any of FINRA’s investigatory findings. According to the CFP Board, Self engaged in exam misconduct by joining a GroupMe chat group titled “March 2021 CFP Exam” where “on five separate occasions he solicited assistance from group chat members who had already taken” the March 2021 CFP Exam by requesting information about examination questions.

Self “knowingly gained an advantage over other March 2021 CFP Exam-takers when he studied topics based on the information he received from those individuals who had taken” the exam previously, according to the CFP Board. The CFP Board issued an administrative order in May 2022 permanently barring Self from obtaining the CFP certification marks after Self failed to file an answer to a CFP Board complaint alleging exam misconduct following the March 2021 CFP Exam.

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters before FINRA and the CFP Board.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, advisors, law, finra

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

The work that you and your team have performed on my behalf is exemplary.

JT

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

July 1, 2025
State Regulators Fine Five Major Broker-Dealers Nearly $10 Million for Excessive Commission Charges

A coalition of state securities regulators has ordered five broker-dealers — including Edward Jones, LPL Financial, RBC, Stifel, and TD Ameritrade — to pay almost $9.9 million in penalties for overcharging customers on small-value trades.

June 30, 2025
SEC Charges New Mexico Investment Advisor with Fee Fraud and Fiduciary Breaches

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has charged David A. Nagler and his firm, New Line Capital LLC, with defrauding clients through deceptive fee disclosures and undisclosed conflicts of interest.

 

June 27, 2025
FINRA Sanctions Advisor for Accepting $1 Million Inheritance from Client Without Firm Approval

FINRA has fined and suspended veteran advisor Kenneth J. Malm for accepting a $1 million inheritance from a client without receiving the necessary firm approval.