The SEC found that contrary to Morgan Stanley’s disclosures, William Keith Phillips recommended to certain advisory clients three money managers who were not approved for participation in Morgan Stanley’s advisory programs and had not been subject to the firm’s due diligence review. This fact was not disclosed to Phillips’ clients. The SEC further found that Phillips had undisclosed relationships with the unapproved money managers he recommended to his advisory clients and that he and Morgan Stanley received substantial brokerage commissions and/or fees from them. Thus, the SEC found that Phillips made misrepresentations about the firm’s money manager recommendation process to his clients and failed to ensure that the conflicts of interest inherent in his recommendations were disclosed to clients. Based on the above, the SEC found that Phillips willfully aided and abetted and caused Morgan Stanley’s violations of Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act.

Pursuant to the Order, the SEC ordered Phillips to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act and suspended him from association with any investment adviser, broker, or dealer for four months, and ordered him to pay a civil monetary penalty in the amount of $80,000. Phillips consented to the issuance of the Order without admitting or denying any of the findings in the Order.

According to his FINRA Broker Report (CRD), William Keith Phillips is currently employed with Wiley Bros.-Aintree Capital, LLC. Prior to being employed by Wiles Bros.-Aintree Capital and Morgan Stanley, Phillips was a registered representative with Painewebber and Shearson Lehman. Phillips’ CRD also indicates that in addition to the SEC’s investigation, he has also been named in at least three customer disputes related to possible securities fraud.

If you have any questions about investments you made with William Keith Phillips, or if you believe that you have been the victim of a securities fraud, the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A. may be able to help. David A. Carter is a South Florida securities fraud lawyer based in Boca Raton, Florida. He reviews securities fraud cases throughout the country and Florida, including securities fraud cases in Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Wellington, Jupiter, Stuart, and Vero Beach. To contact us, please call us at 561-750-6999 or send an email to contact@carterpa.com. For more information on the firm, please visit http://www.carterpa.com.

According to the SEC’s orders in the case, Morgan Stanley breached its fiduciary duty to advisory clients in its Nashville, Tennessee, branch office by making material misstatements about a program through which the firm assisted clients in developing investment objectives and in selecting properly vetted money managers. Contrary to its disclosures, Morgan Stanley recommended some money managers who had not been approved for participation in the firm’s advisory programs and had not been subject to the firm’s due diligence review. William Keith Phillips of Nashville, Tennessee, then a top producer at Morgan Stanley, steered clients to three unapproved managers in particular. Unbeknownst to investors, Morgan Stanley and William Keith Phillips received substantial brokerage commissions or fees from these three unapproved managers.

William Keith Phillips is now registered with Wiley Bros-Aintree Capital, LLC.
According to Phillips’ FINRA Broker Report, he has been named in at least three customer complaints related to securities fraud, including claims for unsuitable investments and various sales practice violations.

If you have questions about investments you made with William Keith Phillips or Morgan Stanley’s Nashville, Tennessee branch, or if you believe that you have been the victim of a securities fraud, the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A. may be able to help. The Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A. is a South Florida securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and Chapter 7 bankruptcy law firm based in Boca Raton. David Carter is a securities attorney that reviews securities fraud cases throughout the country and Florida, including securities cases in Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Stuart, Fort Myers, Naples, Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Fort Pierce. To contact the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A., please call 561-750-6999, or email us at contact@carterpa.com. For more information about the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A., you can also visit our website at www.carterpa.com.