• January 25, 2021
• LPL Financial

Arthur Obermeier (CRD No. 350245), was a Financial Advisor with LPL Financial LLC. LPL filed a Uniform Termination Notice of Securities Industry Regulation (Form U5) on May 23, 2019; the reason stated for Arthur Obermeier’s discharge was “[e]xercising discretion in client accounts without authorization.” Upon FINRA’s review of the document, the agency moved to action.

According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), on January 11, 2021, Arthur Obermier was suspended from any association with any FINRA member firm in any capacity for 60 calendar days and fined $5,000 for exercising discretion without written authorization in customer accounts and without the approval of his member firm.

According to the FINRA sanction, “Respondent hereby accepts and consents, without admitting or denying the findings and solely for the purposes of this proceeding and any other proceeding brought by or on behalf of FINRA, or to which FINRA is a party, prior to a hearing and without an adjudication of any issue of law or fact, to the entry of the following findings by FINRA.

“From January to March 2019, Obermeier violated FINRA Rule 2010 when he executed six trades with a total principal value of approximately $798,000 in two of his LPL customers’ accounts without the customers’ authorization or consent for the trades.“
For a copy of Arthur Obermeier’s FINRA disciplinary action details, click here.

Summary Detail of Allegations

Obermeier entered the securities industry in January 1974 and, since then, has been registered with FINRA through associations with seven FINRA member firms. In June 2002, Obermeier became registered with FINRA as a General Securities Representative and Registered Options Principal through an association with LPL Financial LLC (LPL), a FINRA member firm. In a Uniform Termination Notice of Securities Industry Registration (Form U5) dated May 23, 2019, LPL reported Obermeier’s discharge for “[e]xercising discretion in client accounts without authorization.” Although Obermeier is not currently associated with a FINRA member firm, he remains subject to FINRA’s jurisdiction pursuant to Article V, Section 4(a) of FINRA’s By-Laws. Respondent does not have any relevant disciplinary history.

For a copy of Arthur Obermeier’s BrokerCheck report, click here

When Brokers Failing to Exercise Discretion Is a Problem for Investors

FINRA Rule 2010, among other things, requires a customer’s written authorization before a broker-dealer can carry out transactions in the customer’s account. In addition, the broker-dealer’s member firm is required to approve the broker-dealer’s authorization. Because 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, these authorizations are required to protect customers.

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.