According to a recent public notice by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Kenneth Stewart Tyrrell (Ken Tyrrell) was barred by FINRA in December 2017.
Kenneth Tyrrell’s bar occurred following allegations he sold one of his customers $13 million of private equity and debt securities that his firm did not authorize him to sell. Allegedly, some of those securities were related to Kenneth Tyrrell’s outside business activities that were also not disclosed to his firm.
In a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (“AWC”), FINRA alleged one of the outside business activities the customer invested in involved securities for a company Kenneth Tyrrell co-founded and owns. The AWC also alleges Kenneth Tyrrell caused $498,000 of the customer’s funds to be transferred from his investment account to a concierge business owned by Kenneth Tyrrell’s wife to pay for services.
FINRA records state Kenneth Tyrrell was registered as a General Securities Representative and Investment Advisor Representative with UBS from November 2008 through September 2016 and Cary Street Partners from August 2016 through October 2017. FINRA records also state UBS discharged Kenneth Tyrrell due to alleged undisclosed outside activities and investments and conflicts of interests involving his wife’s business. While registered with UBS and Cary Street, Kenneth Tyrrell worked out of branch offices, respectfully, in Vienna, Virginia and Richmond, Virginia.
Selling Away and Outside Business Activities
Brokers, like Kenneth Tyrrell, may engage in business activities occurring outside of the scope of their job with a firm, which are referred to as “outside business activities” in the securities industry. Brokers doing so can be perfectly acceptable. However, sometimes a broker’s outside business activities creates conflicts of interest between his own interests and the duties he owes to his clients. This can occur when a broker causes a client to send funds to, or invest in, a broker’s outside business when doing so is not in the client’s best interest. Brokers are required to disclose their outside business activities to their firms. Moreover, brokers selling securities that are not approved for sale by a firm is a securities violation known as selling away.
Firms, like UBS and Cary Street, have a duty to supervise their brokers’ business activities. This includes a duty to supervise a broker’s outside business activities and selling securities not approved for sale by the firm. Customers have a right to pursue claims in FINRA arbitration for investment losses caused by the negligence and violations of their brokers and brokerage firms.
If you have any questions about investment losses you suffered with Kenneth Tyrrell, you may contact Marquardt Law Office LLC for a free evaluation about whether you may have a claim for damages.
Marquardt Law Office LLC is a securities law firm located in Chicago, IL representing clients nationwide who have suffered losses due to misconduct such as fraud and negligence.
