Articles Posted in Reg BI

According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) financial Broker John Lowry (Lowry), currently associated with Spartan Capital Securities, LLC, has at least 3 disclosable events. These events include 2 customer complaints, one regulatory, alleging that Lowry recommended unsuitable investments in different investment products including debt securities among other allegations and complaints.

FINRA BrokerCheck shows a pending customer complaint on November 08, 2024.

Lowry was named a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that while acting as his member firm’s CEO, he failed to timely provide information and documents requested by FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rule 8210 until after FINRA issued two follow-up requests and initiated two expedited proceedings to compel compliance. The complaint alleges that the firm’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) failed to timely respond to five requests made pursuant to Rule 8210 until after FINRA issued six follow-up requests and initiated five expedited proceedings to compel compliance. FINRA initially began investigating the firm’s sales of membership interests in unregistered private funds, an OBA of Lowry and the CAO. FINRA’s requests sought information and documents about the private funds and later sought information and documents relating to the firm’s net capital calculations. FINRA was required to exert a significant amount of regulatory pressure to obtain the information and documents that were important to its ongoing investigation into the firm’s and its registered representatives’ dealings with the private funds. The complaint also alleges that Lowry failed to maintain a reasonable system for the firm’s compliance with Rule 8210 and failed to supervise the CAO’s responses to Rule 8210 requests. After delegating his responsibility for supervising the firm’s compliance with Rule 8210 and his responsibility for some of FINRA’s requests to the CAO, Lowry did not review his delegations of authority to ensure that they were being properly exercised. Lowry failed to intervene and take corrective measures as necessary after learning of red flags suggesting that the CAO was not carrying out her delegated authorities.