VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc. (“VALIC Financial Advisors”) (CRD#42803) has many different complaints filed by FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority), state regulatory organizations, and investors such as yourself. At the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, we have investigated VALIC Financial Advisors, its regulatory and customer complaints, and have also represented investors with claims of fraud, negligence, and breach of fiduciary duty against this organization and its financial advisors.
If you believe you have a claim against VALIC Financial Advisors you should strongly consider hiring an investment fraud lawyer. You should not wait until it’s too late to file a claim. The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., offers free consultations. Give us a call at 800-732-2889. Let’s discuss your case and see what we can do to help you get the compensation you need and deserve.
Can I Sue VALIC Financial Advisors?
If you’ve lost money caused by VALIC Financial Advisors and/or its employees’ misconduct then the answer is, YES, you can sue VALIC Financial Advisors, but the odds are you signed away your right to sue in court and agreed to resolve your dispute in a FINRA arbitration proceeding. Attorney Robert Wayne Pearce has over 40 years of personal experience in FINRA arbitration proceedings and knows very well how you can not only sue VALIC Financial Advisors in FINRA arbitration proceedings but WIN that arbitration. The easiest way to know if you have a viable case against VALIC Financial Advisors is to call Attorney Pearce at our office at 800-732-2889.
Investment Losses? We Can Help
Discuss your legal options with an attorney at The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A.
or, give us a ring at (800) 732-2889.
What is VALIC Financial Advisors?
VALIC Financial Advisors (CRD#42803) is a registered broker-dealer. It operates as a full-service independent broker-dealer, providing a range of financial products and services to individual investors and financial advisors.
As a registered broker-dealer, VALIC Financial Advisors is subject to regulations and oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). It is required to comply with industry standards and regulations to ensure the protection of its clients’ interests.
A failure to comply with industry standards by either its brokers or the firm itself can result in disciplinary actions, fines, or other penalties imposed by regulatory authorities.
VALIC Financial Advisors Has Many Different Regulatory Problems
VALIC Financial Advisors’ rapid growth has not been without consequences. There have been approximately 17 state and self-regulatory body disclosure events; that is, final and formal proceedings initiated by a regulatory authority (e.g., a state or federal securities agency like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or self-regulatory body like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) for a violation(s) of investment-related rules or regulations. In addition, there have been customer complaints filed against VALIC Financial Advisors for misconduct by its securities sales and investment advisory representatives that are not reported by the firm on its Central Depository Record.
We have reported and written about these regulatory problems and customer complaints over many years. VALIC Financial Advisors is a repeat offender: there are over 17 FINRA-reported proceedings citing the firm with one form of supervisory lapses or another.
A Brief Overview of Some of the Regulatory Problems VALIC Financial Advisors Has Faced Over the Years*
VALIC Financial Advisors has been repeatedly censured, warned, and fined multi-millions of dollars for its own misconduct and failure to supervise its army of financial advisors. * A few of the notable FINRA Sanctions for its Supervisory Failures are below:
FINRA Censures and Fines VALIC Financial Advisors for Failure to Monitor and Remedy Inappropriate Variable Annuity Exchanges
Brief Overview: Without admitting or denying the findings, VALIC Financial Advisors consented to the sanctions and to the entry of FINRA findings that it failed to establish a reasonably designed system for the surveillance of rates of variable annuity exchanges and for corrective action in the case of inappropriate exchanges. FINRA stated that the firm had written procedures stating that the firm would monitor variable annuity transactions for inappropriate rates of variable annuity exchanges, but the surveillance procedures were not reasonably designed. For example, the procedures did not detail when or how frequently this review was to be completed. Also, the procedures also failed to provide guidance as to what would be considered a high rate of variable annuity replacements. As a result, the firm was censured and fined $350,000.
SEC Censures and Fines VALIC Financial Advisors for Failure to Disclose Conflicts of Interest Regarding Mutual Fund Share Class Selection Practices
Brief Overview: The United States Securities and Exchange Commission initiated an investigation into and issued an administrative order against VALIC Financial Advisors regarding certain mutual fund and mutual fund share class selection practices. Specifically, the SEC found that the firm had not appropriately disclosed certain conflicts of interest due to its receipt of revenue sharing, avoidance of transaction fees, and receipt Of 12b-1 fees, in violation of the Advisers Act. The SEC also found that the firm did not adopt and implement written compliance policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violations of the Advisers Act and the rules thereunder in connection with its mutual fund share class selection practices. As a result, the firm was censured and fined $4,500,000.
SEC Censures and Fines VALIC Financial Advisors for Receiving Benefits from Financial Arrangement Between Teacher’s Union and Parent Company
Brief Overview: The Securities and Exchange Commission initiated an investigation into VALIC Financial Advisors and found that the firm failed to disclose to certain Florida teachers who were potential and actual clients that the firm’s parent, VALIC (doing business under the AIG Retirement Services, Inc. brand), was providing cash and other financial benefits to a for-profit company owned by Florida K-12 Teachers’ Unions. The teachers’ union entity received cash and other financial benefits in exchange for referring teachers to VALIC’s and the firm’s products and services. The SEC said the firm’s conduct constituted a course of business which operated as a fraud or deceit upon clients and prospective clients. As a result, the firm was censured and fined $20,000,000.
State of Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner Fines VALIC Financial Advisors for Failure to Maintain Valid Email Address with the State
Brief Overview: State of Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner initiated an investigation into VALIC Financial Advisors that revealed due to an administrative error, the firm’s Washington business entity license listed an invalid email address. The state used that contact information to send correspondence which ultimately was not received by the firm. Thus, the state issued an administrative fine against the firm for failure to have at least one licensed affiliate and failure to respond to those inquiries.
State of Hawaii Fines VALIC Financial Advisors for Failure Supervise Registered Representative Who Transacted without Authorization
Brief Overview: The State of Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs initiated an investigation into VALIC Financial Advisors that revealed the firm failed to supervise a registered representative who had submitted a transaction without proper customer authorization. The firm did not admit or deny any findings of fact or conclusions of law but rather settled the matter with the securities enforcement branch of the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Pursuant to the consent order, the firm paid a fine.
*Above are only some of the regulatory disciplinary actions filed against VALIC Financial Advisors by FINRA. NASAA and other state securities regulator investigations and enforcement actions account for another 12 BrokerCheck disclosures.
VALIC Financial Advisors Customer Complaints
There have been scores of customer complaints filed against VALIC Financial Advisors stockbrokers and investment advisors over the years. We have launched many investigations of current and former VALIC Financial Advisors advisors:
- William McDonald of Valic Financial Advisors, Inc.
- Jermaine Taylor of VALIC Financial Advisors
- Jerry Lopez of VALIC Financial Advisors
- Steven Bentley of VALIC Financial Advisors
- Russell Broad of VALIC Financial Advisors
- Cory Davern of Valic Financial Advisors, Inc.
- Joseph Valdes, Jr. of Valic Financial Advisors, Inc.
- Marie Turino of Valic Financial Advisors, Inc.
- Michael Ryan of Valic Financial Advisors, Inc.
- Nahed Alsous of Valic Financial Advisors, Inc.
- Thomas Smith, IV of Valic Financial Advisors, Inc.
- William Hanner of Valic Financial Advisors, Inc.
- Ross Brenner of Valic Financial Advisors, Inc
- James Lesniewski of Valic Financial Advisors, Inc.
- Paul Tunink of Valic Financial Advisors, Inc
If you have lost money investing with any of these VALIC Financial Advisors advisors or others within this brokerage firm, it’s important that you reach out to an investment loss attorney quickly because the statutes of limitations can bar your claims. Call us at 800-732-2889.
Why Does VALIC Financial Advisors Have So Many Regulatory Problems And Customer Complaints?
Independent broker-dealers are notorious for their lax supervisory practices and procedures. The business model of many franchise type operations is to open many offices nationwide for steady growth of fixed monthly revenues without the costs attendant to a full-service branch office with on-site manager, compliance officer and operation personnel. The registered representatives of these independent broker-dealers generally operate as separately incorporated businesses. They are not employees of the broker-dealer and therefore not controlled in the same manner as full-service brokerage firm representatives. The registered representatives control their structure and costs to maximize profits and often leave the protection of investors’ rights and interests as their lowest priority.
The typical supervisory organization of independent broker-dealer operations is to have other independent contractors operate Offices of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJs) to monitor the registered representatives from geographically remote offices and then report to the main franchisor’s compliance office at national headquarters. The supervisors at the OSJs are not employees of the franchisor and often run their own brokerage, insurance and other businesses. They are not devoted full-time supervisors of the smaller branch offices. Consequently, OSJ managers cannot and do not supervise the day-to-day operations of the registered representatives of these Independent broker-dealers.
Generally, there is no immediate review of new accounts opened, securities transactions, business records, cash or securities receipts and deliveries, correspondence and business activities unrelated to the securities brokerage operation at these independent brokerage firms. The lax supervision leaves investors who have transferred their accounts to the smaller independent broker-dealer vulnerable to sales of securities that have not been reviewed or authorized by anyone other than the sales representative earning a commission. There may be no one onsite to detect forgeries of clients’ signatures on documents, the placement of inaccurate information about a client’s investment objectives and financial condition to document the suitability of a particular investment recommendation. Oftentimes there is no daily review of sales literature and client correspondence to protect against misrepresentations and misleading statements being made to investors. In fact, it is not unusual for there to be only one compliance audit visit per year at many of these offices.
These Independent brokerage business operations are worrisome to the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), which has documented more instances of sales abuse and consequently investor losses at these firms than the traditional brokerage firms with branch offices with on-site managers and compliance personnel.
Did VALIC Financial Advisors Advisor Misconduct Cause You Investment Losses?
When financial advisor misconduct has caused you to lose substantial value to your investment accounts, you have the right to seek reimbursement from the responsible parties. VALIC Financial Advisors is responsible like any employer for its financial advisors acts and omissions. In addition, it has an independent duty to supervise its stockbrokers and investment advisors. These cases can be extremely complex, and so having the support of a reputable attorney who is experienced in recovering investment losses for investors is key to your success. Many customers make the mistake of contacting VALIC Financial Advisors without representation with an attorney about their complaints and have their complaints denied.
Related Read: Can You Sue Your Brokerage Firm?
Investment Losses? We Can Help
Discuss your legal options with an attorney at The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A.
or, give us a ring at (800) 732-2889.
Consult With An Attorney Who Recovers Investment Losses Caused By VALIC Financial Advisors Today!
The investment loss attorneys at The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., have helped countless investors over the last 40 years recover the losses from their investment accounts that were caused by broker negligence or misconduct. The firm has extensive experience with VALIC Financial Advisors cases, and Attorney Pearce is committed to seeing that those responsible for the losses you have suffered are held fully accountable.
Give us a call at 800-732-2889. Let’s discuss your case and see what we can do to help you get the compensation you need and deserve.
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