FINRA Suspends Matthew Platnico, Former Allied Broker
Matthew Platnico (CRD# 2102086), formerly a broker registered with Allied Millennial Partners, made unsuitable and unauthorized trades, according to a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sanction suspending him from acting as a broker. The enforcement action and its underlying allegations can be found on his BrokerCheck profile, a FINRA record accessed on July 25, 2023. It shows that the former broker was registered in New York City.
Matthew Platnico Led Unsuitable Options Strategy
FINRA disclosed its enforcement action against Mr. Platnico on May 23, 2023, according to his BrokerCheck report. In a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC Letter), the regulator describes its findings that Mr. Platnico “recommended a high-risk options trading strategy in a joint account held by a customer and her late husband.” He allegedly routinely discussed the strategy with her husband prior to his death, but only spoke with her once about the strategy afterward, even as he “continued to execute the trading strategy in the account.”
FINRA alleged that he did not contact her prior to the execution of options trades in her account, for which he did not have the authority to execute discretionary transactions. He also allegedly failed to perform reasonable diligence to ascertain whether the strategy was still suitable for her. This is important, FINRA goes on to state, because the strategy was not suitable for the customer “given that the strategy involved a substantial risk of loss, the customer was retired, had limited investment knowledge and experience, and the customer had only a moderate risk tolerance.” He allegedly executed “at least 100 unsuitable and unauthorized options trades” as part of the strategy, resulting in the customer’s experience of significant losses.
Mr. Platnico did not admit to or deny FINRA’s allegations. He did consent to the entry of its findings, as well as sanctions including a $10,000 fine and a nine-month suspension from registering with any FINRA member firm in all capacities. His suspension began on June 5, 2023 and will end on March 4, 2024.
Copy of FINRA Fine
Investor Disputes Settled for 6 Figures
Five investors or parties of investors filed disputes involving Mr. Platnico between 2019 and 20233. The claims detailed allegations including unsuitable investments, unauthorized trading, misrepresentations of material information, and excessive trading. His former member firms settled the disputes for more than $400,000 in total.
FINRA: Platnico Last Based in NYC
Matthew Platnico started his career as a broker in 1991, when he joined First Montauk Securities in Red Bank, New Jersey. Over the years, he has worked at firms like Gruntal & Company, Wachovia Securities, Oppenheimer & Company, and Arete Wealth Management. He started working at Allied Millennial Partners’ branch office in New York City in 2019, remaining at the firm until March 2023. With 32 years of experience as a broker, he has completed two state securities law exams, three general industry/products exams, and two principal/supervisory exams.
Lose Money Investing?
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