FINRA Fines, Suspends Alan Richard Joyce of Jacksonville, Florida

Alan Richard Joyce (CRD #1683601, Registered Principal, Jacksonville, Florida) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was fined $7,500 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for 60 business days. The suspension is in effect from February 4, 2013, through April 30, 2013. See FINRA Case #2010024156301. Joyce has been registered with FINRA at Raymond James & Associates, Inc., since October 2003.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Joyce consented to the described sanctions and to the entry of findings that he recommended stock and mutual fund transactions in a customer’s account without having reasonable grounds for believing that such transactions were suitable in view of the customer’s account objectives and financial situation and needs.

The findings stated that the customer won lottery proceeds in her home state. In connection with the opening of the customer’s account with Joyce’s member firm, an Index Advisory Service Agreement was executed that set forth the parties’ responsibilities as it pertained to the measuring index, which basically represented the desired asset allocation to be maintained in the account.

The findings also stated that the Index Agreement required that Joyce, on the firm’s behalf, assist the customer in determining an initial measuring index, consult with the customer in making changes to the measuring index, and obtain final approval of the measuring index (as well as any recommended changes to the measuring index) from a third party assisting the customer in the handling of her lottery winnings. Joyce deviated from the 98 percent fixed income and 2 percent cash asset allocation the customer and the third party approved, to include equities and mutual funds. Other than the initial measuring index, Joyce failed to obtain the approval of the customer or the third party for any of the changes to the measuring index menu.

The findings further included that the overconcentration in mutual funds and equities resulting from Joyce’s investment allocation was unsuitable for the account, given the customer’s financial resources and needs. Joyce also recommended and effected trades in the account that caused an unsuitable overconcentration of account funds in certain individual stocks.

Over the course of a year, the account suffered losses of approximately $183,355.57, resulting in a balance of $48,720.64. With little remaining assets in the account, and distributions continuing at the same rate, the balance had further dwindled and a final distribution of $4,281.33 was sent to the customer. Joyce received $2,457.32 in total compensation for handling the account. FINRA found that at various times, Joyce exercised discretionary power in the trust account established for the customer’s benefit, without the trustee’s written authorization to place discretionary trades and without his firm’s written acceptance of the account as discretionary.

Sonn Law Group is a nationally recognized law firm representing individuals, trusts, corporations and institutions in claims against brokerage firms, banks and insurance companies. To learn more, please call us at 844-689-5754 or complete our “contact form.”