Joel Kichline Suspended by FINRA After For Alleged Unauthorized Trading

Joel Kichline (CRD#: 1416219) is a dually registered Broker and Investment Advisor at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc., in Frontenac, MO.

Broker’s Background

He entered the securities industry in 1985 and previously worked for Raymond James & Associates, Inc.; Wachovia Securities, LLC; and A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc.

Current And Past Allegations Of Conduct Leading To Investment Loss

According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), in January 2022, FINRA sanctioned Joel Kichline, levying a civil and administrative fine of $5,000, and suspending him from all capacities for one month, beginning February 7, 2022 and ending March 6, 2022. The basis for the sanction is alleged unauthorized trading.

The FINRA sanction states, “Without admitting or denying the findings, Kichline consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he exercised discretion on 1,519 occasions in five customers’ accounts. The findings stated that although the customers gave Kichline oral discretion to purchase or sell securities, none of the customers provided prior written authorization for him to exercise discretion in their account. Additionally, Kichline’s former firm did not accept any of the customer accounts as discretionary account.”

For a copy of the FINRA sanction, click here.

In addition, Joel Kichline has been the subject of one customer complaints and employment termination, including the following:

• July 2020 – “FA violated firm policy by exercising discretion without authorization from certain clients prior to placing trades in those clients’ non-discretionary accounts, and by exceeding time and price discretion authority with regard to other clients.” Joel Kichline was discharged from Raymond James & Associates, Inc.
• December 2016 – “CLIENT ALLEGES FINANCIAL CONSULTANT OPENED ACCOUNTS IN HER NAME WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION. ACTIVITY OCCURRED IN 1997, NOVEMBER 2004, AND MAY 2005. DAMAGES NOT ALLEGED BUT BELIEVED TO EXCEED $5,000.” The customer dispute was closed with no action.

For a copy of Joel Kichline’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.

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.

FINRA Suspends Joel Kichline For Alleged Unauthorized Trading

Joel Kichline (CRD#: 1416219) is a dually registered Broker and Investment Advisor at Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc., in Frontenac, MO.

Broker’s Background

He entered the securities industry in 1985 and previously worked for Raymond James & Associates, Inc.; Wachovia Securities, LLC; and A. G. Edwards & Sons, Inc.

Current And Past Allegations Of Conduct Leading To Investment Loss

According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), in January 2022, FINRA sanctioned Joel Kichline, levying a civil and administrative penalty of $5,000, and suspending him from all capacities for one month, beginning February 7, 2022 and ending March 6, 2022. The FINRA sanction states, “Without admitting or denying the findings, Kichline consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he exercised discretion on 1,519 occasions in five customers’ accounts. The findings stated that although the customers gave Kichline oral discretion to purchase or sell securities, none of the customers provided prior written authorization for him to exercise discretion in their account. Additionally, Kichline’s former firm did not accept any of the customer accounts as discretionary accounts.”

For a copy of the FINRA sanction, click here.

In addition, Joel Kichline has been the subject of one customer complaint and an employment disclosure, including the following:

• July 2020 – “FA violated firm policy by exercising discretion without authorization from certain clients prior to placing trades in those clients’ non-discretionary accounts, and by exceeding time and price discretion authority with regard to other clients.” Joel Kichline was discharged by Raymond James & Associates, Inc. This employment event led to the regulatory sanction described above. 
• December 2006 – “CLIENT ALLEGES FINANCIAL CONSULTANT OPENED ACCOUNTS IN HER NAME WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION. ACTIVITY OCCURRED IN 1997, NOVEMBER 2004, AND MAY 2005. DAMAGES NOT ALLEGED BUT BELIEVED TO EXCEED $5,000.” The customer dispute was closed with no action.

For a copy of Joel Kichline’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.  Discretionary trading imposes the highest fiduciary standard and, for this reason, it is required that a broker obtain written authority from the client before trading with discretion.

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.