• July 23, 2021
• Royal Alliance

John Swon IV (CRD#: 5591686) was a previously registered Broker and Investment Advisor at Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., in Bloomington, IN. He entered the securities industry in 2009 and previously worked for NYLife Securities, LLC; Edward Jones; and RBC Capital Markets Corporation.

According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), in July 2021, FINRA sanctioned John Swon IV, barring him from associating with any member firm in all capacities indefinitely, beginning on July 6, 2021. The FINRA sanction states, “Without admitting or denying the findings, Swon consented to the sanction and to the entry of findings that he refused to produce information and documents requested by FINRA in connection with its investigation concerning allegations in a customer complaint that he misappropriated funds. The findings stated that this matter originated from a Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration (Form U5) that Swon’s member firm filed noting that he violated its policies regarding disclosure and approval of outside business activities (OBAs).”

For a copy of the FINRA sanction, click here.

In addition, John Swon IV has been the subject of one customer complaint that remains pending, including the following:

● April 2021–”THE REPRESENTATIVE VIOLATED THE FIRM’S POLICIES REGARDING DISCLOSURE AND APPROVAL OF OUTSIDE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES.” John Swon IV was discharged from Focus Financial.
● April 2021–”THE ADVISORY REPRESENTATIVE VIOLATED THE FIRM’S POLICIES REGARDING DISCLOSURE AND APPROVAL OF OUTSIDE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES.” John Swon IV was separated from Focus Financial.
● April 2021–”CLIENT ALLEGES THAT THE REPRESENTATIVE “MISAPPROPRIATED OR OTHERWISE MISMANAGED FUNDS ENTRUSTED TO HIM” AS AN INVESTMENT ADVISORY REPRESENTATIVE OF FOCUS FINANCIAL NETWORK INC.” Damages of $110,000 are requested, and the customer dispute remains pending.

For a copy of John Swon IV’s FINRA BrokerCheck, click here.

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.