Stifel Nicolaus Ordered To More Than $14M in Damages, Including $9M in Punitive Damages, Over Structured Note Losses
Claimants Are Former Clients of Stifel Stockbroker Chuck Roberts
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has ordered Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. to pay over $14M to a Florida couple. That is almost $2M in compensatory damages, including interest, to these investors, more than $2M in compensatory damages to their business, $9M in punitive damages, $1.1M in legal fees, and $100K in costs.
The award is related to losses they sustained in structured notes that were marketed and sold to them by the broker-dealer. Here is the arbitration panel’s ruling. The claimants, in their FINRA lawsuit, alleged breach of fiduciary duty, negligent supervision, fraud, negligence, and breach of contract.
Also named in the FINRA arbitration claim, although not a respondent in the lawsuit, is Stifel broker Chuck Roberts. According to his CRD, Roberts has been involved in numerous customer disputes, especially since 2023, that have totaled $41.2M in damages requested. A lot of the investor claims remain pending.
The majority appear to be over-structured notes, including autocallable notes. Structured products are high-risk and can be very volatile. Yet former Stifel customers have accused Roberts of misrepresenting structured notes as a way to preserve capital that could allow potential returns of up to about 12.25%.
The Stifel financial advisor also purportedly touted these structured notes as safe with downside protection.
Roberts has been in the industry for more than three decades and has been with Stifel since 2016. He heads up the firm’s CR Wealth Management Group in New York and Miami.
Even if Stifel may not have been aware of his alleged financial advisor’s negligence, the broker-dealer had a duty to properly supervise Roberts and his customers’ accounts. Many of those who are suing Stifel over structured product losses are wealthy investors. This, however, should not minimize the seriousness of their investment losses.
Also, Roberts purportedly communicated with some customers about investing strategies through an unapproved personal device. It was just last month that The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered Stifel to pay $35M in its investigation into unapproved texting.
Our FINRA Lawsuit Law Firm Are Investigating Structured Note Losses
Structured products are speculative, risky investments. They are unsuitable for a lot of investors who lack the risk tolerance level to weather potential market volatility. Many structured notes do not provide principal protection, which can increase the risk of an investor suffering a total loss of principal should there be a lot of volatility.
Meanwhile, financial advisors and broker-dealers will still have earned their high commissions from selling structured products.
These are complex investments and you want to hire seasoned structured note attorneys that know how to build a solid investment loss recovery claim on your behalf. The Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas FINRA Lawsuit Law Firm (investorlawyers.com) have worked with retail investors, retirees, accredited investors, high-net-worth investors, ultra-high-net-worth investors, and institutional investors for over 30 years.
This includes representing clients with complex claims, including over-structured note losses, against the largest broker-dealers in the United States. Through our skilled efforts and commitment, more than 90% of the investors we helped have received full or partial financial recovery.
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