James Dee Carlson Allegedly Exercises Discretion Without The Proper Authorization

The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker James Dee Carlson. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, James Dee Carlson has been the subject of a FINRA sanction.

James Dee Carlson is a North Carolina based securities broker. He has worked in the securities industry for eighteen years. During his career, he has been registered with just two different securities firms.

His Registrations

• Morgan Stanley (2000-2011)


• UBS Financial Services (2011-Present)

The Allegations

James Dee Carlson was officially sanctioned by FINRA in January 2018. The findings in this matter state that he allegedly executed discretionary transactions in the accounts of customers without having obtained prior written authorization from the customers and without his member firm having accepted the customer accounts in question as suitable for discretionary trading. Due to these allegations, he was fined $5,000 and suspended from acting as a securities broker for a period of fifteen business days.

What is Discretion?

Securities brokers are required to obtain their customers' authorization before they execute trades on their behalf. Just because an investor has hired a securities broker to recommend sound investments does not mean they have forfeited the right to ultimately decide what they want to be invested in. However, there is a trading practice known as discretion where securities brokers can execute trades in a customer's account without first obtaining their authorization to do so. However, before a broker can begin engaging in this discretionary trading, they must first obtain the account holder's express written authorization, and have their member firm deem the account in question as suitable for discretionary trading. Discretion can be a very slippery slope due the excess of power it gives to the securities broker. Brokers who engage in this type of trading now have the ability to place customers in securities they are not financially suited for, or trade their accounts excessively--both of which can be financially detrimental to the investor.

Oakes & Fosher Can Help

Many investors are unaware of the legal recourse available to them after losing money due to securities broker fraud and/or negligence. The truth is that investors who have lost money in this fashion may actually be entitled to damages.

Oakes & Fosher dedicates its entire legal practice to helping investors across the nation. If you, or someone you know, have lost money investing James Dee Carlson, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation.