Finra bars ex-Morgan Stanley broker Kevin Smith

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. on Monday barred a former Morgan Stanley broker who had been fired by the firm two years ago over allegations related to a trade in the trust of someone in his family. The broker, Kevin Smith, was barred after indicating to Finra that he would not appear and provide requested testimony regarding the matter, according to the Finra order. Mr. Smith neither admitted to nor denied Finra's finding as part of the settlement. According to Mr. Smith's BrokerCheck report, in October 2016, Morgan Stanley fired or "discharged" Mr. Smith as a result of "allegations related to a representative's activities while trustee on a family member's trust and related to a trade that may have been executed without confirming with the client beforehand." The matter involved structured products, according to the BrokerCheck profile. Mr. Smith broke into the securities industry in 1985 and worked at five firms before landing at Morgan Stanley in 2007, according to BrokerCheck. He is not registered with a broker-dealer but had been employed at Contego Capital Group Inc., an RIA, from April 2017 through today. "Kevin was registered with Contego but was not involved with managing any client assets; Kevin voluntarily resigned today from Contego," said Mark Czuchry, Mr. Smith's attorney, who added that he had no comment regarding the Finra order. Neither the Finra order nor the BrokerCheck report identify the family member involved in the dispute. In June 2016, a client of Mr. Smith's "alleged that the purchases of two structured notes in 2015 were misrepresented," according to BrokerCheck. The client was eventually paid $57,945 in settlement.