Gihan Anil Fernando (CRD# 4469669) is a financial advisor and stockbroker currently registered with Cetera Investment Advisers LLC and Cetera Investment Services LLC in Houston, Texas, and our firm is investigating customer complaints and regulatory findings involving his recommendations of non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other alternative investments.
Financial Advisor’s Career History
According to FINRA BrokerCheck, Fernando has been in the securities industry since 2002.
- Current Firms (2024–Present) – Fernando is currently registered as an Investment Adviser Representative with Cetera Investment Advisers LLC (CRD# 105644) and as a General Securities Representative and Texas agent with Cetera Investment Services LLC (CRD# 15340). Both firms list his branch office at 5433 Westheimer Road, Suite 800, Houston, Texas 77056.
- BOK Financial (2003–2023) – For roughly two decades, Fernando was dually registered with BOK Financial Advisors and BOK Financial Securities, Inc. (CRD# 17530) in Bellaire, Texas, where he held senior roles including Senior Vice President, Senior Financial Advisor.
- Morgan Stanley (2002–2003) – He previously worked for Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley DW Inc. (CRD# 7556) in Houston, Texas and Purchase, New York early in his career.
During his career, Fernando has passed several industry qualification exams, including the Series 7 General Securities Representative Examination and the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam, as well as the Series 63 and 65 state law exams.
Gihan Anil Fernando Fraud Allegations and Investor Complaints Explained
FINRA BrokerCheck discloses one regulatory event and seventy-two (72) customer disputes involving Fernando, all reported as customer-initiated, investment-related matters that have been resolved with no pending or on-appeal cases.
These disclosures center on allegations that Fernando recommended non-traded REITs and other real-estate related securities that were misrepresented, unsuitable, or not fully explained, resulting in illiquidity and significant investment losses for customers.
Texas State Securities Board Reprimand Over Non-Traded REIT Recommendations
A key disclosure involves a final regulatory action by the Texas State Securities Board (TSSB). On July 2, 2024, Texas issued an order of reprimand (Docket/Case No. REG-24-CAF-05) against Fernando.
According to the BrokerCheck report, for the sole purpose of resolving the investigation, Fernando consented to the entry of the order. The TSSB found that he:
- Recommended clients purchase non-traded REITs without fully understanding the product; and
- Engaged in conduct that “constituted an inequitable practice in the sale of securities in rendering services as an investment adviser,” providing a basis for an order reprimanding him under the Texas Securities Act.
At the time of the activity that led to the regulatory action, Fernando was associated with Cetera Investment Services LLC and Cetera Investment Advisers LLC. The order is final and resulted in a letter of reprimand, and the report indicates that it is not classified as a final order based on fraudulent, manipulative, or deceptive conduct under state or federal law.
Pattern of Non-Traded REIT and Real Estate Security Complaints
BrokerCheck lists 72 customer disputes, all categorized as customer complaints or arbitrations that resulted in settlements. Many of these complaints:
- Involve real estate securities or non-traded REIT investments
- Allege misrepresentation of key product features
- Challenge the suitability of the investments in view of the customers’ objectives and risk tolerance; and
- Relate to sales between approximately 2015 and 2018 while Fernando was at BOK Financial Securities, Inc.
In multiple broker-submitted statements, Fernando asserts that all of these complaints relate to BOKF-approved non-traded REIT investments sold between 2015–2018 and that BOK Financial selected and approved the products, provided the offering documentation, and later repurchased the investments from customers after liquidity problems emerged, with no individual contribution by him to the settlements.
Examples of Settled REIT and BDC Customer Complaints
Below are illustrative examples of the customer disputes reported on Fernando’s BrokerCheck:
1. 2015–2017 Non-Traded REIT Arbitration (Settled)
- Employing Firm: BOK Financial Securities, Inc.
- Product: Real Estate Security (non-traded REIT)
- Allegations: Misrepresentation and unsuitable advice during the sales process from October 2015 through January 2017.
- Alleged Damages: Up to $500,000 in requested relief.
- Forum: FINRA Dispute Resolution Services, Case No. 25-01553.
- Resolution: Settled on October 14, 2025 for $164,380.55, with no individual contribution reported from Fernando.
2. 2015 Real Estate Security Complaint (Settled)
- Employing Firm: BOK Financial Securities, Inc.
- Product: Real Estate Security
- Allegations: Misrepresentation of product features during a May 2015 sale.
- Alleged Damages: $250,000.
- Resolution: Settled on July 3, 2025 for $243,369.26, with no contribution by Fernando.
3. 2016 Real Estate Security Complaint (Settled)
- Employing Firm: BOK Financial Securities, Inc.
- Product: Real Estate Security
- Allegations: Misrepresentation of product features during an August 2016 sale.
- Alleged Damages: $50,000 (equal to the original principal invested).
- Resolution: Settled on November 21, 2024 for $40,903.18, with no individual contribution by Fernando.
4. 2017 Real Estate Security Complaint (Settled)
- Employing Firm: BOK Financial Securities, Inc.
- Product: Real Estate Security
- Allegations: Misrepresentation of product features during an October 2017 sale.
- Alleged Damages: $200,000 (equal to the original principal invested).
- Resolution: Settled on December 17, 2024 for $71,873.45, again with no reported individual contribution.
5. 2016 Business Development Company (BDC) Complaint (Settled)
- Employing Firm: BOK Financial Securities, Inc.
- Product: Business Development Company (BDC)
- Allegations: Misrepresentation of certain product features during the sales process around September 2016.
- Alleged Damages: $225,000.
- Resolution: Settled February 15, 2024 for $124,509.20, with no individual contribution by Fernando.
These examples illustrate the recurring themes in Fernando’s customer disputes: non-traded REITs and related real estate or BDC products, allegations of misrepresentation and unsuitability, and significant claimed losses tied to illiquidity or underperformance.
Summary of Disclosures
As of the most recent BrokerCheck report, the following disclosure events have been reported for Gihan Anil Fernando:
- Regulatory Events:
- 1 regulatory action – Texas State Securities Board order of reprimand (final).
- Customer Disputes:
- 72 reported customer disputes, all in “final” status.
- Multiple matters involving non-traded REITs and real estate securities sold between 2015–2018.
- All reported customer disputes have been resolved through settlements, with no pending or on-appeal cases noted in the BrokerCheck matrix.
Investors should remember that, as FINRA stresses, customer complaints and regulatory allegations may be contested and are not, by themselves, conclusive findings of liability. Many settlements are reached for business reasons and may not involve admissions of wrongdoing.
Fernando’s regulatory history and the volume of non-traded REIT and alternative-investment complaints raise serious questions about whether his recommendations complied with core industry standards, and whether investors may still be able to recover non-traded REIT losses and other alternative-investment losses through FINRA arbitration or other avenues.
To obtain a copy of Gihan Anil Fernando’s FINRA BrokerCheck report, visit this link.
Robert Wayne Pearce Is Committed to Recovering Your Investment Losses
FINRA Rule 2111 – Suitability
FINRA Rule 2111 (Suitability) requires that a broker or associated person have a reasonable basis to believe that a recommended transaction or investment strategy is suitable for a customer, based on information obtained through reasonable diligence regarding the customer’s investment profile—including age, financial situation, investment objectives, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs.
In the complaints involving Fernando, customers allege that non-traded REITs and real estate-related securities were unsuitable because:
- The products’ features and risks were misrepresented or not fully explained;
- The investments were illiquid, with limited redemption options; and
- Investors were exposed to significant concentration in a single illiquid asset class.
If Fernando recommended large allocations to non-traded REITs to investors whose profiles required liquidity (for income or retirement needs) or conservative risk, those recommendations may have violated Rule 2111 by failing both the “reasonable-basis suitability” (understanding the product itself) and “customer-specific suitability” (matching the product to the particular investor) components.
The Texas State Securities Board’s finding that Fernando recommended REITs “without fully understanding the product” further underscores the reasonable-basis suitability concern: a broker cannot satisfy Rule 2111 if he or she does not adequately understand how a product works, its fees, its liquidity constraints, and the circumstances under which distributions may be reduced or suspended.
FINRA Rule 2210 – Communications with the Public
FINRA Rule 2210 (Communications with the Public) requires that all broker communications, including oral presentations and written sales materials, be fair and balanced and not omit material facts or qualifications that would cause a communication to be misleading.
The customer complaints reported against Fernando repeatedly allege misrepresentation of “certain features of the product” in connection with non-traded REIT and real estate security sales, including disputes where alleged damages ranged from $50,000 to as much as $500,000 on individual accounts.
In the context of non-traded REITs and BDCs, communications that may run afoul of Rule 2210 include:
- Emphasizing high distribution yields without equally explaining the risk that distributions may be cut or suspended
- Highlighting “income” or “principal protection” while downplaying illiquidity, redemption limits, or sponsor conflicts of interest
- Using language suggesting that shares are “like CDs” or “bond substitutes” when they carry substantial real estate and market risk
If investors were told that these non-traded REITs would reliably meet their income needs, were easily redeemable, or were low-risk compared to equities, such communications may have violated Rule 2210’s requirement for balanced and non-misleading presentations.
FINRA Rule 2010 – Standards of Commercial Honor and Principles of Trade
FINRA Rule 2010 requires that FINRA members and their associated persons “observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade” in the conduct of their business.
While Rule 2010 is often cited as a “catch-all” provision, it frequently appears in cases involving unethical sales practices, unsuitable recommendations, or patterns of customer harm, even when more specific rules (like 2111 and 2210) are also implicated.
The Texas State Securities Board’s order characterized Fernando’s non-traded REIT recommendations as an “inequitable practice in the sale of securities in rendering services as an investment adviser”—language that closely parallels the “just and equitable principles of trade” standard in Rule 2010 and raises concerns about whether his conduct met FINRA’s baseline expectations for commercial honor.
In a case where a broker:
- Recommends complex, illiquid products without fully understanding them;
- Repeatedly makes sales that result in similar patterns of investor losses; and
- Generates a long trail of customer complaints and arbitration claims regarding the same products and time period,
FINRA Rule 2010 may be implicated as an overarching standard that is violated when the broker’s conduct, taken as a whole, fails to meet the ethical norms required in the securities industry—even if each individual sale is defended as technically compliant.
For over 45 years, Robert Wayne Pearce has helped investors recover losses caused by broker fraud, negligence, and unsuitable recommendations. His firm, The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., represents clients nationwide on a no-recovery, no-fee basis. Call (800) 732-2889 or email pearce@rwpearce.com for a free case review with an experienced securities attorney.
