A former Goldman Sachs analyst has been banned by U.S. regulators for insider trading and other violations.
The U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) banned Brian Maguire, a former research analyst covering the materials sector with Goldman Sachs & Co., after finding that he bought shares in two companies knowing that a fellow analyst was about to recommend buying the stocks.
FINRA found that in April and June of last year, Maguire purchased shares in the companies while he was in possession of material non-public information — internal emails announcing that another analyst at the firm was upgrading their recommendation on the companies.
“Maguire purchased the shares after the upgrades were approved internally but before the research reports announcing those upgrades were published,” FINRA said.
The self-regulatory organization (SRO) said that it also found that Maguire violated internal policies against trading stocks he covered, selling stocks he had “buy” recommendations on and publishing research without disclosing a conflict.
“During testimony given to FINRA staff as part of its investigation, Maguire lied about his history of trading in the undisclosed accounts and trading the securities of issuers that he and his business unit covered,” FINRA said.
Maguire settled the case without admitting or denying the SRO’s allegations, but he consented to the entry of FINRA’s findings.
“Insider trading by securities industry professionals erodes the public trust in our capital markets. FINRA utilizes sophisticated surveillance tools to detect and remediate this type of misconduct,” said Jessica Hopper, executive vice-president and head of FINRA’s department of enforcement, in a release.