Stifel’s bills to compensate clients for complaints against barred financial advisor Chuck A. Roberts have reached roughly $195 million, while pending customer disputes claiming tens of millions more in potential damages have yet to be decided.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which decided one customer dispute with a $132.5 million arbitration award in March over Roberts’ investment recommendations — notably risky structured notes — barred him from the industry in July after the broker refused to appear for on-the-record testimony.
Numerous customers have claimed violations such as breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, fraud and breach of contract over Roberts’ investment recommendations. Besides the $132.5 million award, which Stifel called “outsized” and planned to challenge, FINRA records indicate Stifel has made nearly $46.2 million in settlements, including a recent $850,000 agreement.
In addition, FINRA has granted over $16.8 million in other damage awards, records show.
Roberts’ FINRA BrokerCheck page indicates roughly two dozen pending customer disputes from his tenure at Stifel. Two recently filed disputes, including one for nearly $9 million, don’t yet appear on BrokerCheck, according to Jeffrey Erez, a lawyer representing Stifel customers in disputes involving Roberts.
FinancialPlanning wrote about the recent $850,000 settlement last month.
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