FINRA Bars Former Stifel Broker Amid $133 Million Arbitration Fallout
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has barred former Stifel Financial broker Chuck A. Roberts after a wave of investor complaints linked to his sale of structured products culminated in a $133 million arbitration award and tens of millions in additional settlements.
Roberts, a 35-year veteran of the industry, agreed to the bar rather than continue cooperating with FINRA’s investigation into whether he recommended structured products unsuitable for his clients and misrepresented the nature of those investments.
Although Roberts initially responded to FINRA’s requests for information, he later notified the regulator by email that he would not appear for on-the-record testimony. His refusal to testify triggered the automatic bar from the brokerage industry.
As is standard in such cases, Roberts settled without admitting or denying the findings under a FINRA acceptance, waiver and consent letter (AWC). AdvisorHub reports that the bar does not prevent him from registering as an investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Roberts signed the settlement on July 12, following his voluntary resignation from Stifel, which had supported him throughout mounting legal challenges. A firm spokesperson declined to comment.
The cases against Roberts stem from his sale of $3.7 billion in structured notes, generating nearly $61.4 million in commissions. Some of these products were tied to volatile technology stocks such as Dynatrace, Palantir, Twilio, and DocuSign. Investors alleged they were not adequately warned about the risks involved.
According to AdvisorHub, Stifel has already been ordered to pay nearly $16 million in two separate cases and has settled four others for almost $32 million. Another 20 claims, seeking over $40 million in damages, remain pending on Roberts’ BrokerCheck record. While the pending cases cite Stifel for failure to supervise, none name Roberts individually. Roberts’ attorney, Susan Schroeder—a partner at WilmerHale and former head of enforcement at FINRA declined to comment on the settlement.
Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.
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