LPL Financial to Pay $750K in Nontraded REIT Case Involving Elderly Investor in New Hampshire

New Hampshire’s Bureau of Securities Regulation says that LPL Financial has consented to pay $750,000 to resolve charges involving the sale of nontraded real estate investment trusts to an elderly investor. The state says that transactions were not only unlawful but also they were suitable for the 81-year-old customer.

The state says that the sale of the nontraded REITs were unsupervised, causing the investor to sustain substantial losses in 2008. Aside from the $750K, which includes $250K to the bureau, $250K in administrative fees, and $250K to the investor education fund, LPL will offer remediation to any client in New Hampshire that bought a nontraded REIT through the firm since 2007 if the sale did not meet the firm’s product-specific limitations or guidelines.

Nontraded REITS
Nontraded REITs can be high-risk investments. They are liquid and may come with substantial front-end fees of up to 15%. Distributions are not guaranteed and are determined by the alternative investments’ board of directors. REITs are not traded on exchanges and there is a limited secondary market for them, which can make them difficult for investors to sell.

Over the last several years, nontraded REITs have been a factor in major losses sustained by investors. This is not the type of investment that is suitable for everyone and many retail investors cannot handle the risks involved. Meantime, brokers and their firms have profited from selling these investments.

At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LTD LLP, our is here to help our clients recoup their losses. We also handle cases involving elder financial fraud.

LPL to pay $750K in latest nontraded REIT case, Investment News, December 16, 2015