A financial advisor has been suspended by the Texas State Securities Board for 45 days for putting nearly double the amount of risky assets permitted in the portfolio of a 70-year-old customer.
MF (Mickey) Long II of Plano, Texas, was instructed by the client not to put more than 20 percent of his assets in “highest risk/aggressive” investments.
Instead, the advisor put 36 percent of his money in that category.
At the same time, Long violated his customer’s instructions by placing nearly 78 percent of his assets in “high risk/moderate” vehicles when the client told him to limit the investments to 60 percent of his portfolio.
The risky assets were in non-listed REITs and exploratory drilling programs.
Advisors who have aggressively pushed oil and gas exploration investments (some phony) have been a chronic problem for state securities regulators in the south and southwest for years.
In addition to the temporary suspension, Long was ordered not to sell any alternative investments.
He was also ordered to be put under heightened supervision by his employer, Calton & Associates, for two years.
Long’s infractions came while he was with VSR Financial Services.
The Texas State Securities Board made the announcement of the enforcement action Wednesday.