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Practice Management > Diversity and Inclusion

LPL Investigates Rep Who Allegedly Refused to Hire Black Applicants

By Jeff Berman

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What You Need to Know

  • LPL launched an internal investigation into Skype comments allegedly made by a rep saying she would not hire any Black people.
  • Somebody on the rep's staff forwarded the comments, and they went viral on social media.
  • Three people working for the rep allegedly resigned over the incident.

LPL Financial is “deeply concerned by the statements attributed to” a registered representative for the firm, the company said late Tuesday in a statement provided to ThinkAdvisor after videos posted on TikTok and shared across social media sites alleged she told her staff she didn’t want to interview Black applicants for an open position at her office.

In a video, Denise Bradley, who goes by the name auntkaren0 on TikTok and has more than 1 million followers, branded Eileen Cure, a registered broker and advisor at LPL-affiliated Cure and Associates in Nederland, Texas, the “racist of the day” after somebody on Cure’s staff forwarded Bradley an image of a statement allegedly made by Cure after interviewing a Black candidate for the position.

According to Bradley’s video, which has been viewed more than 542,000 times, Cure allegedly told her staff in a Skype message: “i wanted to tell you i specifically said no blacks. I’m not a prejudice person, but our clients are 90% white and i need to cater to them…so that interview was a complete waste of my time…so please don’t second guess me or go against what i ask…listen to me and give me what i ask for please.”

LPL has “seen the video alleging discriminatory comments by Ms. Cure,” the firm said in its statement. “We immediately launched an internal investigation to review the matter and a decision is forthcoming this week regarding Ms. Cure’s relationship with the firm. We will not tolerate discrimination of any kind in our LPL community.”

Cure, who has been registered with LPL since 2018, according to her report on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s BrokerCheck website, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an update to her initial video, Bradley alleged Cure was “trying to silence my voice.” Bradley included what she said was a Skype comment by Cure in which the rep said: “I have an appointment with the attorneys… so they are planning on getting tictok shut down…I have meetings with Ted Cruz and Chip Roy aides, our US Rep and Senator to discuss this incitement to hate crimes. I do feel this will be over soon and we can get back to normal.”

Bradley included another Skype comment by Cure in which the rep said three people who worked for her resigned over the issue and threatened she would not give a good reference to anybody in her office who also resigned. “This firm is in crisis today,” Cure said, adding what she initially told her staff was “totally taken out of context and made available to a society of mob people.”

News about the video and comments made by Cure were first reported by Financial Planning.

Pictured: Eileen Cure

Jeff Berman

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