Mr. Thomas E. Connors

In August 2017, CFP Board’s Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (Commission) issued an order in which the Commission imposed a two-year suspension on Mr. Connors. The Commission issued its order after determining that Mr. Connors failed to provide his firm with prior written notice of three outside business activities. First, Mr. Connors charged 47 advisory clients a “one-time set-up fee” when they opened their accounts, despite being informed by his supervisor that he could not charge such fees. Second, Mr. Connors charged 32 clients for his services in preparing their tax returns and received payment directly from clients. Third, Mr. Connors received commissions for selling insurance products directly from outside insurance carriers. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) determined that Mr. Connors’s conduct violated FINRA Rules 3270 and 2010. FINRA suspended Mr. Connors from associating with any member firm in any capacity for 14 months, fined him $40,000 and ordered him to pay approximately $6,000 in hearing costs. The Commission also determined that Mr. Connors failed to cooperate with CFP Board’s investigation and obstructed CFP Board’s staff in the performance of its duties when he failed to contact his former firm to request information to a client arbitration. The Commission determined that Mr. Connors’s conduct violated Rules 4.3, 4.4, 5.1 and 6.1 of the Rules of Conduct and provided grounds for discipline pursuant to Articles 3(A) and 3(D) of CFP Board’s Disciplinary Rules and Procedures. Mr. Connors’s suspension is effective from October 3, 2017 until October 3, 2019.