Sources say Wedbush Securities co-president left over his relationship with an employee
- The former co-president of Wedbush Securities, Rich Jablonski, left earlier this month. Employees at the company understand that it was over a relationship with a female employee, according to three people.
- Jablonski was named co-president in May 2018, and was with the investment firm for seven years. Business Insider first reported in early December that Jablonski had left the firm.
- A company spokesperson said Jablonski resigned from the firm but declined to comment on the reason for his resignation.
- Wedbush is privately held and offers services including brokerage, wealth management, equity research, and investment banking. It oversees some $2.4 billion in client assets, according to a November regulatory filing.
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Rich Jablonski, the former co-president of Wedbush Securities, left earlier this month. Employees understand that the departure came after management learned of his relationship with a female employee, three people said.
Jablonski had stepped in as co-president early last year to replace Edward Wedbush, the founder and former president, who stepped down after he and firm dealt with years of regulatory troubles.
Business Insider first reported in early December that Jablonski had left the firm. It could not be confirmed whether Wedbush was looking for a replacement.
A company spokesperson said Jablonski resigned from the firm but declined to comment on the reason for his resignation. Multiple attempts to reach Jablonski by phone and email were unsuccessful. He did not respond to a request for comment in a LinkedIn message.
Jablonski was named co-president in May 2018 alongside Gary Wedbush, who remains in that position, and first joined the Los Angeles investment firm in 2012 as senior vice president of correspondent services.
Gary Wedbush, who is the son of firm founder and former president Edward Wedbush, had alerted employees of Jablonski's exit earlier this month in an email, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Jablonski led the Wedbush-owned high-speed trading provider Lime Brokerage starting in 2014, and became executive vice president of treasury before being named president. Jablonski was previously with the French financial firm Credit Agricole from 1998 to 2012, industry records show.
Wedbush is privately held and offers services including brokerage, wealth management, equity research, and investment banking. It oversees some $2.4 billion in client assets, according to a November regulatory filing.
The firm in recent years has run afoul of US regulators.
In March, Wedbush settled a charge with the Securities and Exchange Commission related to allegations that the regulator called one now-former employee's "long-running pump-and-dump scheme targeting retail investors."
Two years ago, New York Stock Exchange Regulation alleged the firm failed to supervise founder Edward Wedbush's trading activities, which the regulatory body said were in violation of securities law.
Wedbush, who founded the firm in 1955, stepped down last year. Edward Wedbush's other son, Eric Wedbush, is chairman of the board.
In the aftermath of these regulatory issues, this year the firm created two new leadership roles.
Wedbush in July named its first general counsel, Andrew Druch, responsible for overseeing legal, compliance, surveillance, regulatory, corporate governance, and human resources. He reported to Jablonski and Gary Wedbush.
The following month it installed Andrea Epinger, most recently a vice president at JPMorgan Private Bank, as its first head of change management and process improvement, to "accelerate growth and improve efficiency."
