• August 23, 2019
• Wells Fargo Advisors

Stephen A. Kelbick (CRD # 1429133) was a Financial Advisor at Wells Fargo Clearing Services in Villanova, PA.  Stephen Kelbick has been in the securities industry since 1985 and previously worked at Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Lehman Brothers and Prudential-Bache Securities.

According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), FINRA suspended Stephen Kelbick for “exercise[ing] discretionary trading authority and effect[ing] trades in the account of his member firm’s customer without having obtained prior written authorization from the customer or approval from the firm to treat the account as discretionary.”  Wells Fargo Clearing Services “discharged” Stephen Kelbrick in August 2017 relating to these allegations.

For a copy of the FINRA sanction, click http://www.finra.org/sites/default/files/fda_documents/2017055504801%20Stephen%20Allen%20Kelbick%20CRD%201429133%20AWC%20jm.pdf.

In addition, Stephen Kelbrick was the subject of the following three customer complaints alleging:

• November 2016 – “Client verbally alleged that the financial advisor did not invest in the agreed upon ETF portfolio.”  The matter settled for $24,000.
• June 2016 – “Claimant alleges that FA engaged in excessive, unsuitable and unauthorized trading in January of 2015.”
• March 2000 – “CLIENT ALLEGED THAT THE SALE OF A STOCK WAS MISREPRESENTED.”

For a copy of Stephen Kelbrick’s CRD, click https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/1429133.

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, 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.