Did you lose money investing with Mercer Hicks (CRD# 245170)?
Galvin Legal, PLLC is launching an investigation on behalf of investors who may have suffered losses investing with Mercer Hicks. If you suffered losses investing with Mercer Hicks, then Galvin Legal, PLLC may be able to help you recover your losses in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA“) arbitration claim.
If you suffered losses and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
As of January 15, 2023, Mercer Hicks’s FINRA BrokerCheck Report contains the following:
BARRED: FINRA has barred this individual from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with a broker-dealer firm.
Disclosure Events
1 Regulatory Event
3 Employment Separation After Allegations
5 Judgment(s)/Liens
January 11, 2022 – An OHO decision became final in which Hicks was barred from association with any FINRA member in all capacities and ordered to pay disgorgement to FINRA in the amount of $38,812.60 in commissions received. Hicks had appealed the OHO decision to the NAC, but on January 11, 2022, the appeal was dismissed as abandoned. The sanctions were based on the findings that Hicks made unsuitable recommendations to senior customers in violation of customer-specific suitability obligations by recommending purchases of high risk, illiquid, non-traded securities offered by several real estate investment trusts and a business development corporation to the customers, without first satisfying the suitability rule’s requirements. The findings stated that Hicks’ recommendations were specifically unsuitable for each of the customers considering their ages, financial situations and investment profiles. The prospectuses of the investments Hicks recommended describe the inherent risks of investing in unequivocal terms. Typically, they warn that investing in them involves a high degree of risk, one of which is a complete loss of investments. The prospectuses also contain warnings that the investments are suitable only for persons who will not need liquidity. None of the customers had a tolerance for high-risk investments. Such recommendations have been recognized as unsuitable for customers situated similarly to those here. Hicks simply did not know of or pay attention to the risks the prospectuses made abundantly clear. Hicks received commissions totaling $38,812.60 from his recommendations. Furthermore, for some customers, Hicks’ recommendations excessively concentrated their liquid assets in high-risk, illiquid securities. The findings also stated that Hicks violated his reasonable-basis suitability obligations by failing to conduct a reasonably diligent investigation of the investments he recommended. Consequently, Hicks was ignorant of significant features of the securities, including their numerous inherent risks, and did not have a reasonable basis to believe the recommendations were suitable for anyone. Hicks did not know that the company was a business development corporation, did not understand what it invested in and did not understand the risks of investing in the company. Similarly, Hicks did not understand the risks of the non-traded real estate investment trusts he recommended to the customers, did not understand that they were high- risk investments and did not know that the prospectuses warn that investors should be able to afford to lose their entire investments. (FINRA Case #2017052867301)
Current and Previous Registrations
04/25/2014 – 12/23/2021 SOUTHEAST INVESTMENTS, N.C., INC. (CRD#:43035) CHARLOTTE, NC
04/03/2009 – 04/14/2014 CAPITAL INVESTMENT GROUP, INC. (CRD#:14752) PINEHURST, NC
07/24/2001 – 04/01/2009 CANTELLA & CO., INC. (CRD#:13905) PINEHURST, NC
03/18/1997 – 08/17/2001 AMERICAN INVESTMENT SERVICES, INC. (CRD#:21111) OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
FINRA expelled the firm on 02/13/2003
10/14/1993 – 03/14/1997 ROBERT THOMAS SECURITIES, INC (CRD#:10147) ST. PETERSBURG, FL
04/19/1991 – 10/11/1993 ADVANTAGE CAPITAL CORPORATION (CRD#:146) ATLANTA, GA
09/11/1989 – 04/23/1991 NCNB SECURITIES, INC. (CRD#:16361) BOSTON, MA
02/24/1988 – 09/05/1989 THOMSON MCKINNON SECURITIES INC. (CRD#:829) NEW YORK, NY
10/09/1984 – 02/24/1988 CAROLINA SECURITIES CORPORATION (CRD#:142)
11/02/1978 – 09/24/1984 WHEAT, FIRST SECURITIES, INC. (CRD#:6124)
04/15/1975 – 12/14/1978 E. F. HUTTON & COMPANY INC (CRD#:235)
04/30/1974 – 04/15/1975 J.C. BRADFORD & CO. (CRD#:1287)
06/28/1972 – 05/18/1974 REYNOLDS SECURITIES, INC. (CRD#:712)
If you suffered losses and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
Due Diligence Requirement
FINRA requires broker’s to conduct due diligence on investments and to conduct a suitability analysis when recommending securities to a customer that takes into account the customer’s knowledge and experience. FINRA Rule 2111(a) states that “a member or an associated person must have a reasonable basis to believe that a recommended transaction or investment strategy involving a security or securities is suitable for the customer, based on the information obtained through the reasonable diligence of the member or associated person to ascertain the customer’s investment profile. A customer’s investment profile includes, but is not limited to, the customer’s age, other investments, financial situation and needs, tax status, investment objectives, investment experience, investment time horizon, liquidity needs, risk tolerance, and any other information the customer may disclose to the member or associated person in connection with such recommendation.”
Rule 2111 is composed of three main obligations: reasonable-basis suitability, customer-specific suitability, and quantitative suitability. Brokers and the brokerage firms they work for that fail to conduct adequate due diligence on investments they recommend or that make unsuitable recommendations can be held responsible for the customer’s losses in a FINRA arbitration claim.
If you suffered losses and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
Request a Free Consultation with a Securities Attorney
If you suffered losses investing with Mercer Hicks and would like a free consultation with a securities attorney, then please call Galvin Legal, PLLC at 1-800-405-5117.
This information is all publicly available and is being provided to you by Galvin Legal, PLLC.
Galvin Legal, PLLC is a national securities arbitration, securities mediation, securities litigation, securities fraud, securities regulation and compliance, and investor protection law practice. For more information on Galvin Legal, PLLC and its representation of investors, please visit www.galvinlegal.com or call 1-800-405-5117.
