Tr?id=566623520170033&ev=PageView&noscript=1

Former LPL Advisor Suspended for Beneficiary Designation Violations

Posted on July 17th, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Former LPL Advisor Suspended for Beneficiary Designation Violations

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law

A former LPL Financial advisor has agreed to an eight-month suspension and a $5,000 fine after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) found he improperly named his immediate family members as beneficiaries on a client’s accounts without firm approval.

According to ThinkAdvisor, Paul X. Nannicelli spent 30 years registered as a broker with LPL and 24 years as an investment adviser. Nannicelli signed a FINRA Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) letter, resolving the allegations without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings.

According to the regulator, from September 2020 through August 2023, Nannicelli circumvented LPL’s firm policies, which prohibit registered representatives and their immediate family members from being named beneficiaries on client accounts without firm consent. During this period, Nannicelli assisted an unrelated customer in designating his wife as the primary beneficiary and his four children as contingent beneficiaries on six separate accounts. The forms listed them as “family friends” to avoid detection.

Further compounding the misconduct, FINRA stated that Nannicelli later certified on an internal LPL compliance questionnaire that he was unaware of any such beneficiary designations involving his immediate family.

ThinkAdvisor reports that LPL initially submitted a Form U-5 in August 2023 reflecting Nannicelli’s voluntary departure from the firm. Three months later, the firm amended the filing to disclose an internal review prompted by a customer complaint alleging his family members had been improperly added as beneficiaries.

By assisting in these unauthorized beneficiary changes, Nannicelli violated FINRA Rule 2010, which requires members to observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade.

 

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

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next
Quotes Bigger

 


It was really fun seeing you fight for us. You have an amazing way of thinking out of the box.


 

Beth M.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

1781028252 Law
June 9, 2026
FINRA Arbitration Panel Orders &Partners and Broker to Pay Wells Fargo $1.25 Million

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has ordered &Partners and broker David M.

1780940050 Law
June 8, 2026
FINRA Sanctions Oppenheimer for Misclassified Client Statements Involving CMOs

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined and censured Oppenheimer & Co.

1780676353 Law
June 5, 2026
Redemption Pressure Mounts Across Private Credit and Non-Traded BDC Market

Investors continued pulling money from private credit and nontraded business development companies ("BDCs") during the first quarter of 2026 as concerns about liquidity and portfolio valuations intensified across the sector, according to reporting by InvestmentNews.