FINRA Suspends Former Merrill Advisor Over Unauthorized Trades

Posted on September 8th, 2022 at 1:48 PM
FINRA Suspends Former Merrill Advisor Over Unauthorized Trades

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has issued a 45-day suspension and a $5,000 fine on a former Merrill Lynch advisor who allegedly completed unauthorized trades in three separate client accounts.

The former California-based Merrill advisor, Conrad Branson, allegedly transacted 14 trades in an account for a client known as ‘Customer A’ between September 2019 and February 2020 without obtaining prior authorization, knowledge or consent, according to FINRA. FINRA further alleged that Branson completed trades in non-discretionary accounts without obtaining prior written consent from Customer A and two additional clients during the same time period.

According to FINRA, Merrill has reimbursed Customer A for $78,919 in losses. Branson, who was managing nearly $150 million in client assets, departed Merrill in June to join Birchwood Wealth Advisors, which is affiliated with advisory firm aggregator Kingswood US. According to BrokerCheck, Branson also was involved in a previous client dispute related to unauthorized trading in April 2020, which settled for $34,341 while Branson did not contribute.

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, advisors, finra

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

This was the best of all possible outcomes and I cannot thank you and the team enough.

Michael S.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

January 27, 2026
FINRA Sanctions, Criminal Cases, and Industry Bars in 2025

AdvisorHub has compiled a year-end review of enforcement actions and criminal proceedings.

January 26, 2026
James Eccleston Named 2026 Super Lawyer in Securities Litigation

Eccleston Law announces James Eccleston's selection to the 2026 Illinois Super Lawyers list, continuing a track record of excellence since 2005.

January 26, 2026
FINRA Enforcement Actions for Reg BI Violations Surge Past 2024 Levels

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) already has brought more Regulation Best Interest cases in 2025 than it did during all of 2024, according to statements from the regulator’s top enforcement official and a review of FINRA’s disciplinary records by AdvisorHub.