LPL Financial In Trouble Again For Improper Sales of Non-Traded REITs

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announced Wednesday a settlement with brokerage firm LPL Financial. The settlement is the result of a multi-state investigation led by the Nevada Secretary of State Securities Division into LPL’s failure to implement adequate supervisory systems and failure to enforce its own written procedures regarding sales of non-traded REIT shares.

Under the terms of the settlement, in addition to remediating certain investor losses, LPL will pay civil penalties of $1.425 million to be distributed among 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. LPL already reached a prior settlement with Massachusetts’s securities regulators in 2013, and a separate action by New Hampshire securities regulators is still pending.

This is only the latest sanction against LPL for improper sales of non-traded REIT shares to investors. In May, 2015, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ordered LPL to pay about $10 million for broad supervisory failures in the sales of non-traded REITs, non-traditional exchange-traded funds (ETFs), certain variable annuities and other complex products.

My advisor sold me a non-traded REIT…. I didn’t understand the risks. Can I get my money back from these state regulator settlements?

If you have any concerns about a sizable non-traded REIT purchase, contacting an attorney experienced in representing investors in securities litigation and FINRA arbitration is your first stop.   While the recent settlements between LPL and other brokerage firms with state securities regulators may include some limited compensation for certain investors, only a private action in court or FINRA arbitration is the best chance to rescind (unwind) an unsuitable investment sale, or otherwise recover your investment losses from improper investment recommendations.

What’s so Risky About Non-Traded REITs?

• Not a “liquid” investment. Non-traded means not traded on a public securities exchange. It may be that the only way an investor can re-sell the shares is to take pennies on the dollar in a private secondary market.   A financial advisor should clearly explain this to you before you invest, and you should be willing to take the risk of not having access to your investment. Be wary if your advisor tells you not to worry, that the company will buy it back, or that they can make special arrangements for a sale. A non-traded REIT may occasionally offer to buy back a limited amount of investor shares at some highly discounted value, but the company is not required to do that and it is impossible to predict if or when it may happen.
• Expected holding time can be long (7-10 years) and may never end. The idea behind a REIT is that it is a pooled investment fund for income-producing real estate with special tax breaks under the Internal Revenue Code. At some point, the real estate project may fully develop and the company has a “liquidity event” – the first date when an investor can sell his or her shares. But, that date can be years away – or never occur – if the underlying real estate investments are unsuccessful.   Retail investors are unsecured creditors if the company goes belly-up, putting you at the end of the line for a payout. Be wary if your advisor recommends a non-traded REIT without explaining the risk of a long time horizon or total loss of your investment, in particular if you are 60+ years old and thinking about retirement needs.
• High front-end fees that may not be disclosed end up costing investors. Those fees can be up to 16%, so the $10,000 you put in is really only an $8,400 investment. That makes a big difference over time as to how dividend payments are calculated and your principal investment value.

A recent study by the Securities Litigation & Consulting Group found that investors are about $50 billion worse off for having put money into non-traded REITs, versus exchange-traded REITs (which do exist).

• Those same front-end fees mean big commissions for the financial advisor. Your broker might earn 8 – 10% on the sale of a non-traded REIT. This can create an incentive to recommend unsuitable products to the investor. Be wary if your advisor does not (or cannot) explain the illiquidity, long time horizon, higher risk of loss of investment, and high costs of purchasing a non-traded REIT.

These are some of the most prominent risks of non-traded REIT sales. Many brokerage firms, not only LPL Financial, have been sanctioned for supervisory failures and other sales practice violations regarding these risky products. Whether a non-traded REIT is a suitable component of an investment portfolio is a case-by-case analysis, and the Investor Defender attorneys at Samuels Yoelin Kantor LLP may be able to help recover your money.

Investor Defender attorneys Robert S. Banks Jr. and Darlene Pasieczny have the experience, knowledge, and dedication to help you. Mr. Banks himself has over 30 years experience representing investors in recovering millions of dollars in investment losses, and he has served on FINRA’s own National Arbitration and Mediation Committee. If you have concerns about your financial advisor or investment portfolio, please contact us and visit our website at investordefenders.com.