UBS fires top Connecticut broker Phil Fiore Jr. for multiple violations

UBS Financial Services Inc. late last month fired a top broker based in Stamford, Conn., for not keeping his employer informed of outside business activities, even while he was under heightened supervision. Phil Fiore Jr. was discharged at the end of November for violating UBS policies, including not disclosing an unpaid directorship at a not-for profit entity affiliated with a client; not seeking approval to operate a charity golf tournament; and not seeking firm approval to make blog posts, according to his BrokerCheck report. He also failed to disclose to UBS that a new client had made an investment in Mr. Fiore's outside business, which had been approved by UBS, according to BrokerCheck. Mr. Fiore was a senior vice president and part of the FDG Institutional Consulting Group, as well as one of the top-ranked advisers in Connecticut, according to last year's ranking by Barron's magazine. The group had $8 billion in client assets in 2015, according to Barron's. UBS spokesman Peter Stack declined to comment. Efforts to reach Mr. Fiore were unsuccessful. He did not return a message on LinkedIn and his former UBS office in Stamford did not have a number to reach him. Mr. Fiore had been a broker at UBS since 2009. Before that, he worked for Merrill Lynch. Prior to being fired, Mr. Fiore had seven disclosure events on his BrokerCheck report. Five of those are customer complaints, with only one resulting in an award granted to the client. Last May, Mr. Fiore was suspended for 30 days by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. and fined $5,000 for having an outside business activity and acting as a business consultant at an electric utility company without providing specific written notice to UBS, according to BrokerCheck. A year ago, Mr. Fiore was put on heightened supervision as a condition stipulated by the Massachusetts Securities Division after UBS sought to register him as a broker there. (More: Former registered representative in Texas arrested for Internet Ponzi scheme)