Securities Lawyers Blog
Previously financial advisor Alvery Bartlett (Bartlett), previously employed by brokerage firm Aegis Capital Corp. has been subject to at least one disclosable event. These events include one customer complaint. According to a BrokerCheck reports most of the recent customer complaints concern either corporate debt securities or alternative investments such as direct participation products (DPPs) like business development companies (BDCs), non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), oil & gas programs, annuities, and private placements. The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP have represented hundreds of investors who suffered losses caused by these types of high risk, low reward products.
FINRA BrokerCheck shows a settled customer complaint with a damage request of $1,000,000.00 on March 13, 2026.
The arbitration was filed by multiple claimants that allege the representative recommended an investment strategy consisting exclusively of large concentrations in illiquid, speculative, high commission alternative\, investments over the course of more than 15 years (approximately 2001-2016) which was misrepresented to them. They further allege the firm failed to conduct due diligence on the alternative investment strategy and\, failed to supervise the representative’s conduct. One claimant alleges that the representative recommended a private hedge fund that was not properly reviewed and supervised by the firm. After the\, representative left the firm some of the claimants followed him to his next broker-dealers where they allege the representative continued to represent that many of the investments were still active and could liquidate\, and return millions to claimants; thus claimants did not know that their portfolios had lost value overall until recently.\,
Products under DDPs include non-traded REITs, oil and gas offerings, equipment leasing investments, and a range of other alternative financial instruments. Due to their steep costs and fee structures, these alternative investments are nearly always unsuitable and seldom yield profits for investors. By offering brokers extra commissions, firms incentivize the sale of poor-quality investments, ultimately leading to a manipulated market driven by artificial demand.
Several studies have confirmed that Non-traded REITs underperform publicly traded REITs with some showing that Non-Traded REITs cannot even beat safe benchmarks, like U.S. treasury bonds. It is the responsibility of brokers to inform investors that non-traded REITs deliver lower returns than treasuries and are both high risk and illiquid—but they frequently fail to do so. Because investors are not compensated with additional return in exchange for higher risk and illiquidity, these kinds of alternative investment products are rarely, if ever, appropriate for investors.
Brokers have a responsibility treat investors fairly which includes obligations such as making only suitable investments for the client after conducting due diligence. Due diligence includes an investigation into the investment’s properties including its benefits, risks, tax consequences, issuer, history, and other relevant factors. Appropriate due diligence would identify that an alternative investment’s high costs, illiquidity, and conflicts of interests that would make the investment not suitable for investors. Investors often fail to understand that they have lost money until many years after agreeing to the investment. In sum, for all of their costs and risks, investors in these programs are in no way additionally compensated for the loss of liquidity, risks, or cost.
Unfortunately, these types of alternative investment products continue to popular among brokers due to their high commissions. In order to counter the perverse incentives to sell these flawed product many states now limit investors from investing more than 10% of their liquid assets in Non-Traded REITs and BDCs. Many states impose these limitations because these investments do not benefit investors.
Bartlett has been in the securities industry for more than 40 years. Bartlett has been registered as a Broker with Aegis Capital Corp. since 2020.
Investors who have suffered losses are encouraged to contact us at (800) 810-4262 for consultation. At Gana Weinstein LLP, our attorneys are experienced representing investors who have suffered securities losses due to the mishandling of their accounts. Claims may be brought in securities arbitration before FINRA. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.