Financial Advisor Richard Urciuoli Sanctioned by the SEC for Unsuitable Trading

• September 17, 2025
• LPL Financial

Richard John Urciuoli (CRD#: 1239283) is a registered investment advisor with Summit Planning Group, Inc. in E. Syracuse, NY.

Broker’s History

He entered the securities industry in 1984 and previously worked with MHA Financial Corp.; Linsco Financial Group, Inc.; and LPL Financial LLC.

Current and Past Allegations of Conduct Leading to Investment Loss

According to publicly available records released by the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in September of 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) deemed it appropriate and in the public interest that public administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted against Summit Planning Group, Inc. (Summit) and Richard Urciuoli (together, Respondents). In anticipation of the institution of these proceedings, Respondents have submitted Offers of Settlement (the Offers), which the Commission has determined to accept.

The commission finds that as the firm’s sole owner and investment adviser representative, President, and Chief Compliance Officer, Urciuoli used his discretionary authority over client accounts to buy and hold VXX for time periods- between 34 and 86 trading days-that were inconsistent with the intended use of the product as described in its prospectus and pricing supplement, the primary disclosure documents for the product. VXX is a complex, futures-linked exchange-traded note (ETN) designed to provide short-term exposure to a futures index derived from the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX Index). The pricing supplement to the prospectus, featured in bold, italicized type on the first page the following warnings, as well as others: The ETNs are intended to be trading tools for sophisticated investors to manage daily trading risks and are only suitable for a very short investment horizon. The pricing supplement also contained further warnings, including a notice under a heading in bold typeface entitled, If you hold Your ETNs as a Long Term Investment, It Is Likely That You Will Lose All or a Substantial Portion of Your Investment. That section cautioned that VXX is only suitable for a very short investment horizon. Furthermore, that if VXX is held as a long-term investment it is likely that you will lose all or a substantial portion of your investment. Urciuoli did not review either of these important disclosure documents before purchasing VXX for his firm’s advisory clients. Of the firm’s client accounts, Urciuoli invested 64 percent of all client accounts, in a 3 percent VXX position.

Despite the warnings in the disclosure documents for the product, Urciuoli held VXX in his customers’ accounts for multiple weeks. He sold approximately half of the VXX position in each account 34 trading days later and the remaining positions for those accounts 86 trading days later. The client accounts holding VXX lost over $443,809 from Summit’s VXX investments. Summit charged its clients $8,476.36 in fees in connection with the VXX investments, consistent with what Summit would have earned in connection with other investments. Neither the firm nor Urciuoli had a reasonable basis to conclude that holding VXX for extended time periods was suitable for their clients. Urciuoli failed to give adequate consideration to how the product’s disclosed risks could impact the investment’s performance when held for extended periods. The firm also did not adopt or implement written policies and procedures that were reasonably designed to ensure that it understood the material features and risks of complex products, like VXX, before purchasing them for advisory clients. As a result of his conduct Urciuoli willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act and caused the firm’s violations of Advisers Act Section 206(4) and Rule 206(4)-7 thereunder.

Respondent Richard Urciuoli was censured and ordered to cease-and-desist. He was also sanctioned with civil and administrative penalties/fines in the amount of $100,000.00 and sanctioned with disgorgement in the amount of $8,476.36. Lastly, he was sanctioned with a monetary penalty of $925.23.

In addition, Richard Urciuoli was the subject of one other SEC AdvisorInfo disclosure:

• June 2020—Discharged by LPL Financial LLC. “Did not timely notify Firm of written customer inquiries and grievances received.”

For a copy of Richard Urciuoli’s SEC AdvisorInfo, click here.

We Help Investors Recover Investment Losses

Financial advisors have a legal and regulatory obligation to recommend only suitable investments that are appropriate for their clients’ needs and objectives. Their employing brokerage firm has a legal and regulatory obligation to supervise the Financial Advisors’ sales practices and dealings with clients. To the extent any of these duties are breached, the customer may be entitled to a recovery of his or her investment losses.

Reasonable basis suitability requires that a recommended investment or investment strategy be suitable or appropriate for at least some investors. Reasonable basis suitability requires an advisor to conduct adequate due diligence so that he or she can determine the risks and rewards of the investment or investment strategy.

Customer-specific suitability requires that a member or associated person have a reasonable basis to believe that the recommendation is suitable for a particular customer based on that customer’s investment profile. Among the criteria that a financial advisor must evaluate to satisfy his or her customer-specific suitability obligations include the investor’s age, tax status, time horizon, liquidity needs, and risk tolerance; a client’s other investments, financial situation and needs, investment objectives, and any other information disclosed by the customer should also be considered.

Excessive trading often occurs when a Financial Advisor puts his or her interests ahead of the clients and makes transactions solely for the purpose of generating commissions. Financial Advisors have a regulatory duty to recommend suitable investment strategies. One of the components of the suitability analysis is quantitative suitability.

Quantitative suitability requires a brokerage firm or financial advisor with actual or de facto control over a customer’s account to have a reasonable basis for believing that a series of recommended transactions – even if suitable when viewed in isolation – is not excessive and unsuitable for the customer when taken together in light of the customer’s investment profile. No single test defines excessive activity, but factors such as the turnover rate, the cost-equity ratio, and the use of in-and-out trading in a customer’s account may provide a basis for a finding that a member or associated person has violated the quantitative suitability obligation. Financial advisors have a legal and regulatory obligation to recommend only suitable investments that are appropriate for their clients’ needs and objectives. Their employing brokerage firm has a legal and regulatory obligation to supervise the Financial Advisors’ sales practices and dealings with clients. To the extent any of these duties are breached, the customer may be entitled to a recovery of his or her investment losses.

The Wolper Law Firm represents investors nationwide in securities litigation and arbitration on a contingency fee basis. Matt Wolper, the Managing Principal of the Wolper Law Firm, 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.