Kelly Johnston & Rick Diamond: Fidelity Advisors Face $25mm Complaint

Covington, Kentucky financial advisor Kelly Johnston (CRD# 5001042) and Fort Lauderdale, Florida advisor Rick Diamond (CRD# 1602991) recently received an investor complaint alleging eight-figure damages. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that each is a broker and an investment advisor with Fidelity Brokerage Services and Fidelity Personal and Workplace Advisors, respectively.

Ms. Johnston’s and Mr. Diamond’s BrokerCheck reports disclose the same investor complaint. Filed in August 2023, it alleges that as a representative of Fidelity Brokerage Services, she failed to disclose that investments in fixed income mutual funds could suffer principal loss, and that these investments were unsuitable for the claimant, an institutional customer. (For reference, FINRA Rule 2111 mandates that financial advisors recommend only investments that are in keeping with their customers’ background and objectives.) The pending complaint alleges damages of $25,000,000.

In a statement included with the pending complaint’s disclosure, Ms. Johnston and Mr. Diamond push back against the allegations. “The representative denies the allegations and intends to defend vigorously against the institutional customer’s allegations,” the statement reads.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Kelly Johnston holds 15 years of securities industry experience. Based in Covington, Kentucky, she has been a broker with Fidelity Brokerage Services since 2008 and an investment advisor with Fidelity Personal and Workplace Advisors since 2019. She has no prior registrations. Her credentials include the passage of four securities industry qualifying exams: the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; and the Uniform Combined State Law Examination, or Series 66. She currently holds 55 state licenses.

Mr. Diamond, meanwhile, holds 33 years of securities industry experience. Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Boston, Massachusetts, he has been a broker with Fidelity Brokerage Services since 2007 and an investment advisor with Fidelity Personal and Workplace Advisors since 2018. His past registrations include Strategic Advisors (Fort Lauderdale, Florida; 2007-2018), Dreyfus Service Corporation (Boca Raton, Florida; 2003-2006), Prudential Securities (New York, New York; 1995-2000), and Lehman Brothers (New York, New York; 1986-1995). His credentials include the passage of four securities industry qualifying exams: the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; and the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, or Series 65. He currently holds 53 state licenses. (Information current as of September 25, 2023.)

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