Sean Sullivan Fired from Aegis Capital

Sean Sullivan (CRD #: 6283466), a broker registered with Sovereign Global Advisors, allegedly recommended unsuitable investments, according to his BrokerCheck record, accessed on January 6, 2023. If you want to learn more about his alleged conduct as a broker, read on.

According to allegations filed on October 21, 2022, Sean Sullivan recommended unsuitable investments. 

On August 2, 2022, an investor alleged that Sean Sullivan engaged in unauthorized trading and failed to follow instructions. 

Termination from Aegis Capital

On July 8, 2022, Aegis Capital fired Sean Sullivan following multiple allegations of unauthorized trading.

FINRA Rule 3260

Unauthorized trading violates FINRA Rule 3260, which restricts brokers from engaging in discretionary trading outside of pre-approved discretionary accounts. Both the firm and the client must approve an account before brokers can exercise their trading discretion in a client’s account.

Investor Dispute

On January 27, 2020, an investor named Sean Sullivan in allegations of common law fraud, gross negligence, elder abuse, breach of contract, and violation of the suitability rule between June 2017 and August 2019. The client sought $1,079,155 in damages and received a settlement of $145,000.

FINRA Rule 2165

FINRA Rule 2165 addresses the financial exploitation of elderly clients through the unauthorized use of clients’ funds.

FINRA Rule 2111

FINRA Rule 2111 requires brokers to tailor their investment recommendations to suit investors’ profiles. These profiles describe investors’ age, risk tolerance, investment goals, and other characteristics.

Some common violations of this rule include:

• Recommendations of high-risk investments, which are likely to lose money.
• Recommendations or illiquid investments. These investments are intended to be held for long periods of time and can be difficult to sell on short notice.
• Excessive trading, which is quantitatively unsuitable. The trading activity must not generate so many fees that it negatively affects investors’ returns.
• Recommendations of unsuitable investment strategies. Overconcentration of securities in a particular stock or sector, for example, is often unsuitable for investors due to the degree of risk involved.

Investors who rely on brokers for recommendations may be able to recover their losses by seeking out FINRA arbitration.

What qualifies as broker negligence?

Brokers may act in many negligent ways. Some common forms of negligent conduct include misrepresenting or omitting information related to investments, executing unauthorized trades, or recommending unsuitable investments.

Investors may be able to recover money lost through broker negligence by pursuing FINRA arbitration.

Background Information

Sean Sullivan has passed the following exams:

• Series 63 – Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination
• SIE – Securities Industry Essentials Examination
• Series 7 – General Securities Representative Examination

Sean Sullivan is a registered broker in California, Maryland, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania.

He has also worked for Spartan Capital Securities (CRD #: 146251), Aegis Capital (CRD#:15007) and Joseph Stone Capital (CRD#:159744).

Kurta Law Can Help

If you worked with Sean Sullivan and you have concerns about your investments, please contact us today at 877-600-0098 or info@kurtalawfirm.com for a free consultation.

For over 20 years, Kurta Law has advocated on behalf of investors who want to recover their investment losses from brokers and brokerage firms. Kurta Law is a nationally recognized law firm and exclusively represents investors against brokers and brokerage firms on a contingency basis. This means that the firm only earns a fee if our securities attorneys recover money on your behalf.