by Staff Attorney | December 2, 2025 9:15 pm

According to records received from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on December 2, 2025, Des Moines, Iowa based investor Bill Tunink[1]‘s securities license reflects that multiple settlements were reached in arbitration cases involving Mr. Turnick and LPL Financial. Bill Tunink’s CRD number is 2738224.
FINRA’s records reflect settlements of $135,500, $115,000 and $25,000, as of December 2, 2025. These settlements were paid to investors who brought formal FINRA Complaints.
In addition to LPL Financial, Mr. Tunink is also affiliated with Tunink Murray Financial Group.
William B. “Bill” Tunink’s securities license tells a story that begins with a long, seemingly stable career and ends with a sharp and troubling rise in customer complaints, allegations of undisclosed loans, and ultimately his separation from the brokerage industry. Tunink first entered the securities world in the mid-1990s. He spent more than two decades registered with Avantax Investment Services, Inc. (formerly HD Vest) from 1996 through 2021. After that, he joined LPL Financial LLC, where he worked until September 2025. Over his career, he passed the Series 6, 7, 63, and SIE exams — the core regulatory credentials required for brokers.
For many years, nothing in his public record suggested significant controversy. But beginning in 2024 and accelerating rapidly in 2025, the tone of Tunink’s career changed. According to his FINRA BrokerCheck file, he now has 14 separate disclosure events, most involving serious customer disputes. Many of these complaints revolve around a similar theme: borrowing money from customers, failing to disclose these loans to his firm, or engaging in “away-from-the-firm” financial dealings. In brokerage compliance, this type of conduct is among the biggest red flags because it exposes investors to undisclosed risks and deprives firms of their ability to supervise brokers’ outside activities.
According to public disclosures, at least three arbitrations have already settled with two of the settlements totaling more than $100,000 to customers.
In the securities industry, one of the clearest and most strictly enforced rules is the prohibition against brokers, like Bill Tunink, borrowing money from their customers. This is not a gray area. It is a bright-line standard that comes directly from FINRA Rule 3240, multiple SEC guidance principles, and the overarching supervisory obligations imposed on brokerage firms under FINRA Rule 3110. The reason the rule is so strict is simple: when a broker borrows from a customer, the customer is placed in a position of extraordinary risk, the broker faces an inherent conflict of interest, and the entire supervisory process of the brokerage firm breaks down.
FINRA Rule 3240 flatly states that brokers may not borrow money from customers unless a narrow, pre-approved exception applies. These exceptions are extremely limited: the customer must be an immediate family member, or the loan must fall under an institutional banking relationship where the customer is a lender (such as a regulated bank). Even when an exception applies, the broker must still obtain written pre-approval from the brokerage firm before entering into any loan agreement. Brokers cannot rely on handshake agreements, personal understandings, or informal arrangements. Non-compliance is considered a serious violation.
When brokers borrow from customers without firm approval, they are operating outside the firm’s supervisory systems — something the industry calls “selling away” or “private securities transactions.” Even if the transaction is a simple loan, it still exposes customers to high risk because the firm cannot monitor for repayment, interest calculations, or ongoing conflicts of interest. Under FINRA Rule 3110, firms must supervise all broker activities, and undisclosed loans make adequate supervision impossible. Regulators treat these violations extremely seriously because they often accompany other misconduct, including outside business activities, misuse of funds, and Ponzi-style schemes.
Borrowing from customers undermines trust, violates FINRA rules, destroys supervisory oversight, and exposes investors to avoidable financial harm. That is why the prohibition exists — and why violations almost always lead to regulatory action, termination, and customer arbitration claims.
If you lost money investing with Bill Tunink, contact our attorneys for a free and confidential consultation. Call 800-767-8040 or complete the form below.
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