According to FINRA, Angelo Julius Piccone has been fined $10,000 (deferred), suspended from association with any FINRA member for five months, and ordered to pay $23,905.81 plus interest in disgorgement for willfully violating Regulation Best Interest.

Piccone recommended 11 sales of speculative, illiquid alternative investments totaling $457,000 to a retail customer with a moderate risk tolerance, annual income of no more than $25,000, and net worth of $587,438. The customer's investment objectives were preservation of capital, current income, and funding retirement - not speculation.

As a result of Piccone's recommendations, the customer became 77% concentrated in alternative investments, including a 15% concentration in speculative bonds. Piccone earned $23,905.81 in commissions from these unsuitable recommendations.

The customer brought and settled an arbitration claim against Piccone's firm relating to these investments. Piccone also used his personal mobile device to exchange text messages about securities business, including making unbalanced, promissory, and misleading statements about recovery prospects for one investment.

This case demonstrates the importance of ensuring investment recommendations align with your stated objectives. A customer seeking capital preservation should not end up 77% concentrated in speculative alternatives. Investors should question recommendations that seem inconsistent with their goals.