Category Archives: Kevin O’Brien, former employer: Baird

Kevin O’Brien’s past has come back to haunt him. After learning the former Robert W. Baird & Co. broker was kicked out the brokerage industry, a group of Cincinnati residents have waged a campaign to get O’Brien to resign from his position as the newly elected trustee of Anderson Township.

O’Brien took office in November. As trustee, he shares management responsibilities for overseeing the town’s finances.

The residents who are calling for O’Brien’s resignation cite the former broker’s records with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). On Sept. 14, O’Brien was banned for life from the working in the securities industry over allegations that he misappropriated for his own use some of the $378,000 he transferred from a client’s account. O’Brien accepted the sanction without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings. He was later fired from Robert W. Baird & Co., the brokerage firm where he worked when the alleged violations occurred.

O’Brien’s records can be viewed here.

As reported Jan. 15, 2010, by Investment News, a group of Anderson Township citizens have filed a subpoena requesting O’Brien’s records from Robert W. Baird. According to the article, the information will offer additional evidence as to why a court should order O’Brien to significantly increase the $1,000 bond all Ohio township trustees must have before they take office. The higher bond would give the township greater protection in the event possible legal action against O’Brien occurs from the securities case.

“The right thing for him to do would be to resign,” said Courtney Laginess, an Anderson Township resident, in an article posted on Cincinnati.com. “To be permanently barred from practicing securities is a very big deal. It really goes to the honesty and trust issue.”

Kevin O’Brien’s flight from the securities industry serves as a reminder to investors that rogue brokers don’t go away, they just find new jobs. O’Brien, a former registered representative with Robert W. Baird & Co., was barred on Sept. 14, 2009, from working in the securities industry. The reason, according to records from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), had to do with allegations that O’Brien misappropriated for his own use some of the $378,000 he transferred from a client’s account.

On Dec. 17, 2009, O’Brien was sworn in as the trustee of Anderson Township, a suburb of Cincinnati. Among O’Brien’s responsibilities as trustee: helping to manage the township’s $35 million budget.

As reported Dec. 23 by Investment News, O’Brien reportedly still dispenses financial advice via his own financial consulting business, O’Brien Private Wealth Management. The firm, however, is not listed in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s database of financial advisory firms.

Ironically, despite the fact that FINRA permanently revoked his brokerage license, O’Brien touted “Leadership With Integrity” as part of his campaign platform during his bid for the position of Anderson Township Trustee.

Equally ironic is O’Brien’s belief that his financial background will be a benefit to the residents of Anderson Township.

“I have extensive knowledge of municipal financing and budgeting that will greatly assist the township in going forward in difficult economic times,” he said in a Dec. 17 article by Cincinnati.com.

In that same article, O’Brien said he never tried to keep his legal problems with FINRA a secret during his campaign for trustee. Instead, he says the issue “was never brought up.”

Apparently it is now.