Max Tulupnikoff: David Lerner Advisor Fined over Energy LPs

Westport, Connecticut financial advisor Max Tulupnikoff (CRD# 6188857) was recently sanctioned and suspended in connection with the allegedly unsuitable sales of energy limited partnerships. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that he is registered as a broker with David Lerner Associates and an investment advisor with Spirit of America Management Corporation.

A Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (No. 2019063686214) describes FINRA’s disciplinary action against Mr. Lerner. Filed in May 2025, it states that between October 2015 and March 2019, he recommended that two of his customers, a married couple, purchase investments in “illiquid, proprietary o illiquid, proprietary limited partnerships without having a reasonable basis to believe the investments were suitable for the customers based on their investment profiles.” The investments in question were “formed to acquire and develop hydrocarbon-producing properties,” and they were risky investments whose prospectus described them as suitable only for investors who could assume the risk of a “speculative, illiquid, and long-term investment.”

The customers in question, according to FINRA, were “a married couple saving for retirement,.” One was 48 years old and the other was 50 years old at the time of the recommendation, in October 2015. Mr. Tulupnikoff ultimately recommended the customers make nine purchases of the investments in their joint account, totaling $147,946. Their investment profile prior to the initial purchase, according to FINRA, was “moderately conservative.” As a result, the Letter states, his recommendations “were not suitable.” As a result, FINRA found that he violated industry rules, suspended him for two months, and ordered him to pay a fine of $5,000.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Max Tulupnikoff holds 11 years of securities industry experience. Based in Westport, Connecticut, he has been registered as a broker with David Lerner Associates since 2013 and an investment advisor with Spirit of America Management Corporation since 2018. His credentials include the passage of four securities industry qualifying exams: the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, or Series 65; the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; and the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7. He is licensed in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington. (Information current as of May 21, 2025.)

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