Articles Tagged with Christopher Robert Hickman

FINRA suspended Christopher Robert Hickman in June of 2017 for six months. This suspension is a result of Hickman’s violations of NASD Rule 2310, and FINRA Rules 2111 and 2010, regarding the unsuitable trading of Unit Investment Trusts, or “UITs.” Hickman neither denied nor confirmed the findings, and consented to the sanctions, which included a five-month suspension and a fine of $5,000, and included customer restitution of $115,989.75 (with interest.)  Hickman was in the Delray Beach, Florida office of Cetera.

Hickman recommended these UITs to his customers and sell them within a year of purchase. The UITs in question had a 24-month maturity, and come with significant up-front charges, up to 3.95%. The average holding period for his customers was 136 days. After their sale, Hickman again recommended his customers purchase the same types of UITs with the proceeds and sell them after less than a year, repeating the process. Six of his customers suffered losses of approximately $115,989.75.

During his tenure at Cetera Advisors, LLC., Hickman was also the subject of several customer disputes, most of which were settled, and one denied. The last customer dispute, in April of 2017, involved “breach of fiduciary duty, violation of FINRA rules, negligence, breach of contract, and elder abuse,” and was settled for $15,000.