According to FINRA, Eric Edward Nicolassy was suspended for four months and ordered to pay $32,134.09 in partial restitution to customers on March 24, 2022, for excessively and unsuitably trading a senior customer's account and exercising unauthorized discretion.

In the senior customer's account with an average month-end equity of $106,293, Nicolassy executed purchases totaling $5,138,740. The trades caused the customer to pay $71,409.09 in commissions and $10,410 in trade costs and margin interest, resulting in an annualized cost-to-equity ratio exceeding 76 percent. This means the customer's account would need to grow by more than 76 percent annually just to break even. The customer suffered more than $125,000 in losses.

Additionally, Nicolassy exercised discretion in customer accounts without having obtained prior written authorization from the customers.

In light of Nicolassy's financial status, no monetary fine was imposed, but he was ordered to pay partial restitution.

A 76 percent cost-to-equity ratio is extraordinarily high and demonstrates extreme excessive trading. For context, cost-to-equity ratios above 20 percent are generally considered excessive. A 76 percent ratio means the overwhelming majority of any investment returns went to paying trading costs rather than benefiting the customer.

The victim being a senior customer makes this violation particularly troubling. Senior investors often have limited ability to recover from financial losses and may be more vulnerable to broker exploitation. Excessive trading in a senior's account can devastate retirement security.

The fact that Nicolassy executed over $5 million in purchases in an account averaging about $106,000 demonstrates the extreme nature of the trading activity. This level of turnover serves no legitimate investment purpose and exists solely to generate commissions.

Exercising discretion without written authorization compounds the violation by giving Nicolassy control over trading decisions without proper documentation or supervisory oversight.

Investors, especially seniors, should carefully monitor trading activity and commission charges. A 76 percent cost-to-equity ratio represents trading activity so excessive that profitable outcomes become virtually impossible.