Former Cetera Stockbroker Roger Owens Suspended for Misconduct

Roger Lee Owens of Elkton, Maryland submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in which he was fined and suspended for allegedly engaging in private securities transactions in violation of FINRA Rules 3280 and 2010. In July 2007, Roger Lee Owens registered with Cetera Advisors as an Investment Company Products Variable Contracts Representative. According to FINRA, Owens was discharged by his firm for allegedly engaging in private securities transactions without approval from Cetera. The findings stated that Owens sold $1,170,000 in promissory notes to 14 investors, four of whom were Cetera customers, relating to Woodbridge, a purported real-estate investment fund. The findings also stated that he received $59,471 in commissions and personally invested $75,000 in the notes. In addition, Owens falsely attested in compliance questionnaires that he had not engaged in any private securities transactions without the approval from Cetera.

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Cetera Advisors to Pay More Than $600K in Restitution for Mutual Fund Overcharges

Cetera Advisors LLC has agreed to pay more than $628,000 in restitution to customers who were overcharged in certain mutual fund purchases.  According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), between July 1, 2009 and January 1, 2017, Cetera Advisors disadvantaged certain retirement plan and charitable organization customers that were eligible to purchase Class A shares of certain mutual funds without a front-end sales charge.  The customers were instead sold Class A shares with a front-end sales charge or Class B or C shares with back-end sales charges and higher ongoing fees and expenses. Cetera Advisors is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with approximately 1,788 registered representatives and 961 branch offices.  According to the Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) submitted to FINRA, Cetera Advisors failed to reasonably supervise the application of the sales charge waivers to the eligible mutual fund sales, relying on its financial advisors to determine the applicability of sales charge waivers.  Further, Cetera Advisors allegedly failed to adequately notify and train its financial advisors regarding the availability of mutual fund sales charge waivers for eligible customers.  Without admitting or denying the findings, Cetera Advisors was censured, required to provide a remediation plan to FINRA, and agreed to pay restitution to eligible customers who were overcharged an estimated $628,040. 

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12 More Independent Broker Dealers Fined by FINRA for Failing to Give UIT Discounts to Investors

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined a dozen independent broker-dealers (IBDs) for failing to give their clients the proper discounts available to them, known as breakpoint discounts, on sales of unit investment trusts (UITs). They were also cited for related supervisory failures. Some of the biggest fines were levied against First Allied Securities Inc. (First Allied), Fifth Third Securities Inc. (Fifth Third), Securities America Inc. (Securities America), Cetera Advisors LLC (Cetera Advisors), and Park Avenue Securities LLC (Park Avenue). FINRA ordered the 12 firms to pay both fines and restitution totaling $6.7 million. The other firms sanctioned were: Commonwealth Financial Network (Commonwealth Financial), MetLife Securities Inc. (MetLife), Comerica Securities (Comerica), Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, Ameritas Investment Corp. (Ameritas), Infinex Investments Inc. (Infinex), and The Huntington Investment Company (Huntington Investment).

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