Finra bars ex-Morgan Stanley adviser who did not cooperate with investigation

Fired by Morgan Stanley in 2016, Bruce Plyer failed to give testimony in a Finra investigation.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. said Monday that it had barred a former Morgan Stanley adviser for failing to appear and provide testimony in a Finra investigation concerning allegations that the adviser engaged in unauthorized trading of client accounts.

Morgan Stanley fired the adviser, Bruce Plyer, in November 2016 when allegations of executing “trades in client’s accounts without authorization” surfaced, according to his BrokerCheck report. Mr. Plyer was then briefly registered with International Assets Advisory before leaving the industry in early 2017.

Mr. Plyer could not be reached Monday morning to comment. He accepted and consented to Finra’s findings in the matter without admitting to or denying any of Finra’s findings, according to the Finra order.

A broker since 1987, Mr. Plyer joined Smith Barney in 1993. Morgan Stanley bought Smith Barney in 2009 in the wake of the credit crisis.

Mr. Plyer had four customer disputes, according to BrokerCheck, three of which were settled and one denied. The most recent was in 2011, when a client alleged he had made excessive and unsuitable margin trades, according to BrokerCheck. The alleged damages were $2.5 million, and the claim eventually settled for $600,000, according to BrokerCheck.