• February 17, 2022
• Ameriprise Financial Services

Ronald S. Bright (CRD#: 2702179) is a dually registered Broker and Investment Advisor at Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC in Portland, OR.

Broker’s Background

He entered the securities industry in 1997 and previously worked for Edward Jones and Olde Discount Corporation.

Current And Past Allegations Of Conduct Leading To Investment Loss

According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), in February, FINRA sanctioned Ronald S. Bright, fining him $5,000 and suspending him from all capacities for 15 business days beginning March 7, 2022 and ending March 25, 2022. The FINRA sanction states, “Without admitting or denying the findings, Bright consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he exercised discretion without written authorization when executing transactions for customer accounts in connection with switching certain of the customers’ assets between mutual fund families. The findings stated that Bright made these transactions based on communications with his customers that occurred three or more days before he placed the trades. Although Bright discussed the mutual fund switching strategy with the customers, he did not speak with the customers about the specific trades on the dates of the transactions. In addition, Bright’s member firm had not approved any of these accounts for discretionary trading.”

For a copy of the FINRA sanction, click here.

In addition, Ronald S. Bright has been the subject of one customer complaint and an employment disclosure, including the following:

• March 2020 — “Registered representative admitted to not speaking with certain clients on the same day he made mutual fund exchanges in their accounts. Registered representative also did not meet obligations under the firm’s compliance policies.” Ronald S. Bright was discharged by Edward Jones.
• February 2019 — “The client alleges the financial advisor did not disclose the 10% early IRA distribution penalty and did not recommend using a different account.” The customer dispute was settled for $7,110.

For a copy of Ronald S. Bright’s FINRA BrokerCheck, click here.

We Help Investors Recover Investment Losses

FINRA regulations require that a customer’s written authorization is required before a broker-dealer can carry out transactions in the customer’s account. In addition, the broker-dealer’s member firm needs to approve the broker-dealer’s authorization. These measures are intended to protect the customer. Discretionary trading allows the broker-dealer to unilaterally decide to buy or sell securities at any price and not have to check with the client first. Exercising discretion without authorization can be costly to investors, and broker-dealers and their member firms, too.

In addition, to the extent a Financial Advisor converts client assets during the course and scope of his employment and/or registration with the brokerage firm, that brokerage firm may be held liable for any attendant losses.

The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. represents investors nationwide in securities litigation and arbitration on a contingency fee basis.  Matt Wolper, the Managing Principal of the Wolper Law Firm, P.A., is a trial lawyer who has handled hundreds of securities cases during his career involving a wide range of products, strategies and securities. Prior to representing investors, he was a partner with a national law firm, where he represented some of the largest banks and brokerage firms in the world in securities matters. We can be reached at (800) 931-8452 or by email at mwolper@wolperlawfirm.com.