The parts most
firms bury.

Regulatory status, risk, conflicts, privacy and continuity — set out in plain language rather than buried in a footer link.

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Check this firm's background on FINRA BrokerCheck before you rely on anything written here.

BrokerCheck is free, run by FINRA, and shows the firm's registrations, approved business lines, direct owners and executive officers, and every reported disclosure event in its history. It is the authoritative record; this page is a summary.

Open BrokerCheck — CRD 10806

01 — Regulatory status

Who we are, legally

Commerce Securities Corporation is a corporation formed in the State of Texas on 5 October 1981. It is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a broker-dealer under file number 8-28228, with registration effective 8 October 1982, and has been a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) since 15 November 1982. Its FINRA Central Registration Depository (CRD) number is 10806. It is supervised by FINRA's Dallas District Office.

The firm holds state securities registrations in Texas (effective 18 January 1996) and California (effective 27 October 2000). Securities business is conducted only in jurisdictions where the firm and the relevant registered person are appropriately registered or exempt from registration.

The firm is not a registered investment adviser. It does not provide investment advisory services, does not manage discretionary accounts, and does not provide tax, accounting or legal advice. It is not registered as a government securities broker or dealer and does not effect transactions in commodities, commodity futures or commodity options.

Custody, clearing and affiliations

Commerce Securities Corporation does not hold or maintain customer funds or securities and does not provide clearing services for other broker-dealers. It has no introducing arrangements, no referral or financial arrangements with other brokers or dealers, and no third-party arrangements for the maintenance of its books and records. It is not affiliated with, controlled by, or under common control with any bank, bank holding company, savings institution, credit union, foreign bank or other financial or investment institution.

Because the firm does not hold customer funds or securities, no representation of SIPC coverage is made anywhere on this website. If SIPC status is material to you, confirm it directly with the firm and with SIPC before proceeding.

Ownership

The Mary Payne Family Trust holds 75% or more of the corporation and directs its management and policies. George William Gilman serves as Trustee of that trust and as President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of the firm. This concentration of roles is disclosed on the firm's CRD record and is described further on The Firm page.


02 — Risk

What can go wrong

The securities the firm places are private, unregistered and speculative. Before subscribing to anything, an investor should understand at minimum the following:

  • Illiquidity. Private placements and limited partnership interests generally cannot be resold. There is usually no secondary market, transfer is typically restricted by contract and by securities law, and an investor should assume capital is committed for the full life of the programme.
  • Loss of capital. The entire amount invested can be lost. Distributions, returns of capital and exits are not guaranteed by the issuer, by the firm, or by anyone else.
  • Valuation. Interests are not independently quoted. Any value reported to an investor is an estimate produced by the issuer or sponsor and may differ materially from what an interest would realise in a sale, if a sale were even possible.
  • Concentration. Real estate syndications and single-asset programmes depend on a small number of properties, tenants or counterparties. Local market conditions can affect the whole investment at once.
  • Leverage. Programmes frequently use borrowed money, which magnifies both returns and losses and can result in a total loss of equity where the underlying asset declines modestly.
  • Tax. Tax treatment varies by investor and by programme, can change with legislation, and may include delayed or amended reporting. Consult your own tax adviser; the firm does not provide tax advice.
  • Reliance on sponsors. Investors typically have no control over day-to-day management and depend entirely on the sponsor or general partner's competence and good faith.

Past performance of any programme, sponsor or asset class is not indicative of future results. Nothing on this website is a prediction or guarantee of any outcome.

Eligibility

Private placements are generally offered only to investors who qualify as accredited investors under Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933, and each offering may impose further restrictions. Meeting an income or net-worth threshold makes an investor eligible; it does not make an investment suitable. Suitability is assessed individually for every subscriber, and the firm declines subscriptions that do not meet that assessment.


03 — No offer

This website is not an offer

Nothing contained on this website constitutes an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any security, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Any offer of securities is made solely through definitive offering documents delivered to eligible investors, and those documents — not this site — govern in all respects.

Information here is general, is provided for informational purposes only, and does not take account of any particular person's objectives, financial situation or needs. It is current as at the date of publication and may become inaccurate without notice. The firm undertakes no obligation to update it.


04 — Conflicts

Conflicts of interest

The firm is compensated for placement and advisory work, typically by the issuer or sponsor of an offering rather than by the investor. That creates a financial incentive to complete a transaction and is the most significant conflict in the firm's business. Compensation arrangements applicable to a particular offering are described in that offering's documents and should be read before subscribing.

The firm also trades securities for its own account. Proprietary trading is conducted with firm capital and is kept separate from client engagements; no client is a counterparty to it. Where a potential conflict arises between the firm's interests and a client's, the firm's policy is to disclose it in writing and, where the conflict cannot be adequately managed, to decline the engagement.


05 — Privacy

Privacy of client information

The firm collects non-public personal information only where it is necessary to conduct business and to meet its regulatory obligations — for example, information provided on subscription and account documentation, and information arising from transactions with the firm.

The firm does not sell client information and does not share it with unaffiliated third parties for their marketing purposes. Information may be disclosed where required or permitted by law, including to regulators, auditors, and service providers acting for the firm under a duty of confidentiality, and as necessary to process a transaction the client has authorised.

Access to client information within the firm is restricted to personnel who need it to perform their duties. Physical, electronic and procedural safeguards are maintained in line with applicable federal standards. A copy of the firm's full privacy notice is available on request from the Houston office.


06 — Continuity

Business continuity

The firm maintains a written business continuity plan addressing how it would respond to a significant business disruption. Because the firm does not hold customer funds or securities, no customer assets are exposed to a disruption at the firm.

In a disruption affecting only the firm's office, the firm intends to resume operations from an alternate location or remotely, and to remain reachable on its published telephone number. In a wider disruption affecting the Houston area or the region, recovery may take longer, and the firm will communicate its status by telephone and through this website. The plan is reviewed annually and may be modified at any time; a current summary is available on request.


07 — Complaints

Raising a concern

Complaints should be sent in writing to the Chief Compliance Officer, Commerce Securities Corporation, 710 North Post Oak Road, Suite 400, Houston, Texas 77024. The firm will acknowledge a written complaint and respond in accordance with applicable FINRA rules and its own written supervisory procedures.

Investors may also contact FINRA directly through the FINRA Investor Complaint Center, the SEC through sec.gov/tcr, or the Texas State Securities Board. FINRA also publishes a public BrokerCheck brochure describing what the service covers, available on request or by calling FINRA on 1-800-289-9999.


08 — This website

Terms of use

This website and its contents are provided "as is". The firm makes no warranty as to accuracy, completeness or fitness for any purpose and accepts no liability for loss arising from reliance on it. Links to third-party sites, including FINRA, the SEC and state regulators, are provided for convenience; the firm does not control and is not responsible for their content.

The Commerce Securities Corporation name and mark are the property of the firm. Content on this site may not be reproduced or redistributed without permission.

This page summarises the firm's regulatory position and is not a substitute for the firm's Central Registration Depository record, its written supervisory procedures, or the offering documents applicable to any particular transaction. Where this page and any of those documents differ, those documents govern. Last reviewed: 2026.