Ron Willoughby: FINRA Suspends Venice, California Financial Advisor

A disciplinary action taken by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority against former Venice, California broker and investment advisor Ron Willoughby (CRD# 2425926) suspended him over allegations he improperly exercised discretionary authority. A former representative of Kestra Investment Services, Willoughby was suspended for three months and issued a fine of $5,000.

According to a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (No. 2017055692301) dated June 2019, Ron Willoughby was registered with Morgan Stanley when, on more than 900 occasions between July 2012 and December 2014, he recommended his clients roll over unit investment trust products more than 100 days before they reached maturity. FINRA’s findings state that even though the UIT products in question had maturity periods of 15 to 24 months, Willoughby recommended his customers sell them after holding them for an average of 191 days, and use the funds generated by the sales to purchase new UITs. FINRA’s findings note that these recommendations resulted in his customers incurring “unnecessary sales charges,” and further that they were unsuitable given the frequency of the transactions as well as their cost. FINRA found his activities constituted violations of NASD Rule 2310, FINRA Rule 2111, and FINRA Rule 2010. As a result of the foregoing alleged conduct, he was suspended from association with any FINRA member firm in any capacity for three months. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $5,000.

Ron Willoughby’s disclosure records also list two customer complaints against him that reached settlements. One complaint, filed in 2017, alleged that as a representative of LPL Financial, he recommended unsuitable unit investment trust products; the complaint reached a settlement in 2018 of $33,035.29. Another complaint, filed in 2008, alleged that as a representative of Morgan Stanley & Company, he recommended unsuitably volatile investments; the complaint reached a settlement of $87,500.

Daniel Soliman is currently not registered as a broker or investment advisor. His employment history includes Kestra Investment Services in Venice, California; LPL Financial in Tempe, Arizona; Morgan Stanley in Tempe, Arizona; Morgan Stanley & Company in Mesa, Arizona; Morgan Stanley DW in Scottsdale, Arizona; UBS Financial Services in Weehawken, New Jersey; Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Merrill Lynch in New York, New York. He currently holds zero state licenses and has passed four securities industry qualification examinations.