Craig Thistlewaite: FINRA Suspends Ex-Morgan Stanley Advisor

Maumee, Ohio financial advisor Craig Thistlewaite (CRD# 2507050) was recently suspended and fined in connection with alleged rule violations. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and Securities and Exchange Commission records show that the former Morgan Stanley broker is registered as an investment advisor with CT Financial Partners.

A Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (No. 2023077934901) issued in July 2024 describes FINRA’s disciplinary action against Mr. Thistlewaite. As it explains, FINRA found that he exercised discretionary authority while executing 546 transactions in two customers’ accounts between January 2014 and April 2021. “The customers had not provided prior written authorization for Thistlethwaite to exercise discretion,” FINRA found, adding that “Morgan Stanley did not accept the accounts as discretionary.” FINRA additionally found that he “communicated with a firm customer concerning securities-related business through unapproved channels,” and that these communications were not preserved in accordance with industry rules. As a result of its findings, FINRA suspended Mr. Thistlewaite from associating with any FINRA member in all capacities for a period of 60 days. It also issued him a fine of $10,000.

Mr. Thistlewaite’s BrokerCheck report discloses two investor complaints. Filed in 2022, it alleged that as a Morgan Stanley representative, he recommended an unsuitable options strategy. The complaint reached a settlement of $4.2 million.

A second investor complaint, filed in 2021, alleged that he breached his fiduciary duty in connection with an options strategy he recommended while a representative of Morgan Stanley. The complaint evolved into an arbitration proceeding before a FINRA panel, which issued an award to the claimant of $11.5 million.

A third disclosure on his BrokerCheck report concerns his termination from Morgan Stanley. As it states, the firm fired him in connection with allegations made transactions in unauthorized accounts without receiving verbal confirmation, engaged in firm-related communications on an unapproved device, and bought a timeshare from a client without firm approval.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Securities and Exchange Commission, Craig Thistlewaite holds 28 years of securities industry experience. Based in Maumee, Ohio, he has been registered as an investment advisor with Morgan CT Financial Partners since 2023. His registration history includes Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Global Markets, McDonald Investments, Dean Witter Reynolds, American Express Financial Advisors, and IDS Life Insurance Company. He is licensed in Michigan, Ohio, and Texas. (Information current as of July 24, 2024.)

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