'Roaring Kitty' no longer has financial broker license: filing

FILE PHOTO: Keith Gill, an individual online investor in GameStop, testifies during an entirely virtual hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services entitled “Game Stopped? Who Wins and Loses When Short Sellers, Social Media, and Retail Investors Collide?”, in Washington, U.S., February 18, 2021. House Committee on Financial Services/Handout via Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Massachusetts financial professional who gained notoriety as GameStop bull “Roaring Kitty” is no longer a broker registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, according to the organization’s online records.

Keith Gill, known as Roaring Kitty on YouTube and DeepF***ingValue on Reddit, is no longer a registered financial broker as of Feb. 26, the FINRA records show. Gill became a central figure in a January trading frenzy in which shares of the ailing videogame retailer surged more than 1,000% in two weeks, driven by interest among retail investors in online forums.

Gill, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, is no longer licensed to act as a broker buying and selling securities on behalf of clients or as an investor adviser providing advice about securities to clients. He had been registered as an agent for MML Investors Services LLC, the broker-dealer arm of MassMutual.

MML Investor Services filed the termination request for Gill with FINRA on Friday, stating that an internal review of his “outside activities” was ongoing. A spokesperson for MassMutual did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Gill’s last date of employment with the firm was Jan. 28.

A FINRA spokeswoman said a person’s registration is terminated when he or she is no longer employed by a registered firm. She declined to comment on specific individuals.

Last month, Gill was sued for allegedly violating securities laws and causing “huge losses” for investors. He has rebutted claims he violated any laws in testimony to lawmakers. His online broker profile now flags the pending litigation, as well as an ongoing investigation by Massachusetts financial regulators.

Gill is expected to appear before Massachusetts regulators later this week.

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