SEC Bars Richard Robertson Following Alleged “Cherry-Picking” Scheme

Richard Robertson (CRD #: 2233786), a broker formerly registered with Triad Advisors, has been barred by the SEC, according to his BrokerCheck record, accessed on October 23, 2022. If you have questions about his conduct as a broker, keep reading.

Bar by SEC

On August 10, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed cease-and-desist proceedings against 

Richard Robertson. The SEC alleged that, from January 2011 to October 2020, Richard Robertson engaged in “cherry-picking” by fraudulently allocating profitable trades to certain accounts at the expense of his clients as a registered investment advisor.

The SEC alleged that Richard Robertson allocated a disproportionate number of trades with positive first-day returns to his personal and family accounts and allocated a disproportionate number of trades with negative first-day returns to client accounts.

Richard Robertson allegedly accomplished this by buying securities in an omnibus account, then waiting until later in the day to allocate securities to other accounts. The SEC alleged that Richard Robertson obtained at least $592,437 through this scheme.

The SEC alleged that Richard Robertson willfully violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5(a) and 10b-5(c) thereunder, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 bans manipulative, deceptive, and otherwise fraudulent activities relating to the securities business. Within this section, Rules 10b-5(a) and 10b-5(c) prohibit the use of fraudulent schemes and artifices, as well as any other form of fraudulent or deceptive practice.

Investment Advisers Act of 1940

Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ban fraudulent and deceptive schemes and business practices.

Sanctions

Richard Robertson was ordered to cease and desist and ordered to pay the following monetary penalties:

• $300,000 fine
• $592,437 disgorgement
• $28,173.12 other monetary penalty

Background Information

Richard Robertson has passed the following exams:

• Series 65 – Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination
• Series 63 – Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination
• SIE – Securities Industry Essentials Examination
• Series 31 – Futures Managed Funds Examination
• Series 7 – General Securities Representative Examination
• Series 22 – Direct Participation Programs Representative Examination

In the past, he worked for the following firms:

• Triad Advisors (CRD#:25803)
• LPL Financial (CRD#:6413)
• NRP Financial (CRD#:103717)
• Wachovia Securities (CRD#:19616)
• Prudential Securities (CRD#:7471)
• PaineWebber (CRD#:8174)
• Dean Witter Reynolds (CRD#:7556)
• Pacific Capital Partners (CRD#:24519)

Kurta Law Can Help

If you worked with Richard Robertson and you have concerns about your investments, please contact us today at 877-600-0098 or info@kurtalawfirm.com for a free consultation.

For over 20 years, Kurta Law has advocated on behalf of investors who want to recover their investment losses from brokers and brokerage firms. Kurta Law is a nationally recognized law firm and exclusively represents investors against brokers and brokerage firms on a contingency basis. This means that the firm only earns a fee if our securities attorneys recover money on your behalf.