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Former Merrill Broker Hired By Petersen
DOW JONES NEWS
By Evelyn Juan
February 28, 2006

NEW YORK--Private broker-dealer firm Petersen Investments on Feb. 15 hired Brian Clark, a Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER) veteran who was terminated by the firm from his job as a financial advisor earlier this month, National Association of Securities Dealers records show.

Merrill terminated Clark on Feb. 9 for allowing family members of clients to direct transactions in clients' accounts without valid power of attorney, the company said in an NASD filing. Clark also failed to make proper recommendations and failed to adhere to the conditions of heightened supervision with respect to his business model, Merrill said in the filing.

Clark was with Merrill for about 10 years. People familiar with his performance said he brought in over $1 million in revenue over the past 12 months and had around $135 million in client assets when he left the company.

Merrill spokeswoman Jennifer Grigas confirmed Clark's departure, but wouldn't say whether he was fired and wouldn't comment on his production figures or client assets. Clark declined to comment. Bertram Riley Jr., an executive vice president who oversees brokerage services at Petersen, didn't return calls.

Brokers terminated by Merrill, the largest brokerage house in the U.S., with over 15,000 financial advisors, often find homes at smaller broker-dealers, who value their significant books of business, said Jacob Zamansky, a New York-based lawyer who often represents investors suing brokerage firms.

Six customer complaints have been filed against Clark since 1989, NASD records show. Four were lodged when he was with Merrill, and two when he was with Citigroup Inc. (C) unit Smith Barney.

The complaints include allegations of unsuitability, churning, negligence with equity transactions, excessive trading, fraud and omitting certain information to clients on investment strategies.

Most of the complaints have been settled, although one is still pending for investigation and another was closed due to lack of merit.

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