FINRA Sanctions NYC Broker Anthony Pace

Joseph Stone Capital broker Anthony Pace (CRD# 2481049) was recently the subject of a disciplinary action by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in connection to allegations he failed to reasonably supervise another representative’s excessive trading. A representative with the firm’s New York City office, Pace was issued a 60-day suspension from acting in any principal capacity.

According to a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (No. 2017052475702) dated December 2019, Anthony Pace was the designated principal between October 2016 and July 2017 for a registered representative who was on heightened supervision. FINRA states that Pace was responsible for implementing supervisory guidelines regarding the representative, and was required to pre-approve all of the representative’s purchase and sale orders before they were executed by verifying them with the customers in question. He was also required by firm procedures to review all representatives for excessive trading and churning. In spite of this, FINRA states, he did not pre-approve all of the customer orders submitted by the representative, and did not follow firm protocols regarding the review of representatives for excessive trading and churning. FINRA states specifically that he did not reasonably supervise the representative’s trading in the accounts of two customers, despite indications of excessive trading.

According to FINRA, one of the customers was an 81 year old individual with an investment objective of “growth and income,” and instead of investigating the suitability of the “high level of activity” in the account, Pace “relied on [the representative’s] representation that the investment objective was ‘speculation.'” In another instance, according to FINRA, Pace was included on email correspondence from the other customer to the representative, in which the customer questioned the frequent trading and requested a “more conservative trading approach.” FINRA states that Pace did not scrutinize any of this trading activity “apart from sending… an activity letter” containing boilerplate language. As a result of the foregoing alleged conduct, Pace was issued a 60-day suspension from acting in associating with any FINRA member firm in all principal capacities. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $5,000.

Anthony Pace has been registered with Joseph Stone Capital in New York, New York since 2018. His previous registrations include Windsor Street Capital, Alexander Capital, Global Arena Capital, VFinance Investments, JP Turner & Company, Internet Capital Markets, LH Ross & Company, FAS Wealth Management Services, and Biltmore Securities. He has passed four securities industry qualifying examinations and his BrokerCheck report lists 26 state securities licenses. (Information current as of May 8, 2020.)