NOTE: Stipulations of Fact and Consent to Penalty (SFC); Offers of Settlement (OS); and Letters of Acceptance Waiver, and Consent (AWC) are entered into by Respondents without admitting or denying the allegations, but consent is given to the described sanctions & to the entry of findings. Additionally, for AWCs, if FINRA has reason to believe a violation has occurred and the member or associated person does not dispute the violation, FINRA may prepare and request that the member or associated person execute a letter accepting a finding of violation, consenting to the imposition of sanctions, and agreeing to waive such member's or associated person's right to a hearing before a hearing panel, and any right of appeal to the National Adjudicatory Council, the SEC, and the courts, or to otherwise challenge the validity of the letter, if the letter is accepted. The letter shall describe the act or practice engaged in or omitted, the rule, regulation, or statutory provision violated, and the sanction or sanctions to be imposed.

Robert Wesley Stout
OS/E062005003202

Registered Principal Stout failed to

• establish, maintain and enforce adequate written supervisory procedures to ensure compliance with FINRA rules and with SEC and Federal Reserve Board rules and regulations;
• ensure that firm customers fully paid for cash transactions within the time allotted by the Federal Reserve Board Regulation T, in that the firm failed to cancel the transactions, liquidate the transactions or freeze the accounts when customers failed to make full payment on purchase transactions in cash accounts within five full business days;
• review, initial and maintain daily purchase and sales blotters at the main office;
• make the determination to implement heightened supervision for individuals who met its written supervisory procedures requiring a determination;
• establish compliance procedures for setting commissions and markups;
• establish supervisory procedures to detect excessive commissions and markups.
• ensure that an individual actively engaged in managing the firm’s securities business was registered as a principal or in any other capacity;
• maintain firm records in an easily accessible place and failed to promptly produce the records; and
• respond to FINRA requests to produce new account forms, customer confirmations and order memoranda because they were maintained at a branch office, thereby causing his firm to be in violation of SEC rules.

Robert Wesley Stout: Fined $20,000; Suspended 20 business days in Principal capacity only

Tags: WSPs  Reg T  Heightened Supervision  Markups  Unregistered Principal