Richard Kersting: $500K Complaint Against Ameriprise Advisor

Naples, Florida financial advisor Richard Kersteing (CRD# 1835418) allegedly recommended unsuitably aggressive investments, according to a recent investor complaint. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that he is registered as a broker and an investment advisor with Ameriprise Financial Services.

Mr. Kersting’s BrokerCheck report discloses two investor complaints. The most recent, filed in February 2026, alleges that as a representative of Ameriprise Financial Services, he “recommended an aggressive investment strategy incompatible with [the customers’] investment profile.” The pending complaint alleges damages of $500,000.

An earlier investor complaint, filed in 2001, alleged that as a representative of Southwick Investments and Josephthal & Company, he churned investments, made misrepresentations of material facts, and recommended unsuitable products. The complaint reached a settlement of $24,500.

In 2020 FINRA released an investor resource that defined excessive trading as “the situation where a broker makes a large number of trades in a customer’s account not to benefit the customer but to generate commissions for the broker.” In more severe cases, known as churning, a broker makes excessive transactions in the client’s account “with either an intent to defraud or with reckless disregard for the customer’s interests.” Additional information on potential red flags indicating excessive trading can be found via FINRA. To catch signs of such conduct, the regulator advises investors to review their account documents for any discrepancies between the information recorded and the information provided to the broker; to monitor trade confirmations and account statements, and contact their broker regarding any potential unauthorized transactions, high-volume activity, or excessive fees or commissions; and to carefully question their representatives about any potential excessive trading.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Richard Kersting holds 37 years of securities industry experience. Based in Naples, Florida, he has been registered as a broker and an investment advisor with Ameriprise Financial Services since 2021. His registration history includes Bruderman Brothers, Gary Goldberg & Company, Purshe Kaplan Sterling, Josephthal & Company, Southwick Investments, Grayson Financial, Fahnestock & Company, Reich & Company, Wayne Grayson Capital, American Bond Group, JW Gant & Associates, First Investors Corporation, JF Lowe & Company, FD Roberts Securities, Thomson McKinnon Securities, and Hibbard Brown & Company. His credentials include the passage of eight securities industry qualifying exams: the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, or Series 65; the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; the General Securities Sales Supervisor – General Module Examination, or Series 10; the General Securities Sales Supervisor – Options Module Examination, or Series 9; the General Securities Principal Examination, or Series 24; the Operations Professional Exam, or Series 99TO; and the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7. He holds 30 state licenses. (Information current as of March 1, 2026.)

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