The Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday indefinitely barred Andrew Komarow, a financial advisor, from engaging in financial activities, less than a year after he was barred by Finra.
Komarow, whose Connecticut-based practice focused on special needs and autism, was found to be engaged in a “free-riding” securities trading scheme from October 2022 to January 2023, the SEC settlement said.
“Free-riding" is a fraudulent practice in which securities traders seek to exploit the "immediate access" credit that's extended by certain broker-dealers in advance of incoming deposits of cash from bank accounts.
Komarow made “unfunded automated clearing house transfers of money totaling $6.9 million from multiple bank accounts to accounts at broker-dealers and engaged in speculative trading with the resulting credits before the transfers were cancelled for insufficient funds,” the SEC found.
According to the SEC, it is alleged that although Komarow’s trading at each of the broker-dealers didn’t bring in much profit, he removed funds from two accounts in which he had engaged in free-riding. Komarow’s free-riding scheme left the broker-dealers with losses that totaled more than $3 million. Meanwhile, Komarow made at least $615,031 in profits, according to the SEC.
Although none of his clients have come forward with any official complaints, Komarow still was found to have violated a section of the Connecticut Uniform Securities Act, according to the settlement.
Komarow was previously highlighted in an InvestmentNews profile for his focus on neurodiversity and understanding special-needs financial planning. Planning Across The Spectrum, his Connecticut-based firm, specialized in that area, with most of his staff being neurodivergent as well. Komarow was also an InvestmentNews 2021 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion award winner, as a See It, Be It role model.
Komarow agreed to the settlement without admitting to or denying the SEC’s findings.
Komarow’s lawyer, Louis Tambaro, did not respond to calls for comment by the time this article was published.
A $141M judgment and a federal asset freeze collide over one shrinking pool
The firm's CFO and EVP of Wealth Management Solutions are the latest executives to exit the broker-dealer.
Clients are saying they would consider switching advisors if another professional offered estate planning services, according to a new Trust & Will survey.
CEO Laurel Taylor says the fintech's composable AI stack helps workers optimize dollars across Trump Accounts, 529s, 401(k)s, and other employee benefits.
The bank has swiped three private banking veterans from BNY as the city climbs the ranks of America's fastest-growing wealth hubs.
Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income
Direct indexing is on pace to outgrow ETFs and mutual funds. Northern Trust's Ken Lassner explains why the advisors who get it wish they had started sooner.
