Securities Lawyers Blog
According to BrokerCheck records financial advisor John Davenport (Davenport), currently employed by Liberty Partners Financial Services, LLC (Liberty Partners) has been subject to three customer complaints, one regulatory action, one employment termination for cause, one bankruptcy, and two judgement or tax liens during his career. According to records kept by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the customer complaints against Davenport concern allegations over variable annuity sales practices.
In January 2019 FINRA alleged that Davenport consented to the sanctions and to findings that he placed two securities transactions for a registered representative of another firm and split the commissions generated from the transactions with that representative, without the knowledge or consent of either firm. FINRA determined that Davenport paid the registered representative from the other firm approximately $50,000 on the variable annuity transactions ostensibly as a referral fee causing his firm’s books and records to be inaccurate. FINRA further made findings that Davenport permitted his assistant to use a personal email address to communicate with securities customers concerning business-related matters, which was not approved by the firm, causing the firm to fail to retain the emails among its books and records.
Variable annuities are complex financial and insurance products. In fact, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a publication entitled: Variable Annuities: What You Should Know encouraging investors to ask questions about the variable annuity before investing. Essentially, a variable annuity is a contract with an insurance company under which the insurer agrees to make periodic payments to you. The investor chooses the investments made in the annuity and value of your variable annuity will vary depending on the performance of the investment options chosen. The primary benefits of variable annuities are the death benefit and tax deferment of investment gains.
However, the benefits of variable annuities are often outweighed by the terms of the contract that include exorbitant expenses such as surrender charges, mortality and expense charges, management fees, market-related risks, and rider costs.
According to newsources, a study revealed that 7.3% of financial advisors had a customer complaint on their record when records from 2005 to 2015 were examined. Brokers must publicly disclose reportable events on their BrokerCheck reports that include customer complaints, IRS tax liens, judgments, investigations, terminations, and criminal cases. In addition, research has show a disturbing pattern with troublesome brokers where brokers with high numbers of customer complaints are not kicked out of the industry but instead these brokers are sifted to lower quality brokerage firms with loose hiring practices and higher rates of customer complaints. These lower quality firms may average brokers with five times as many complaints as the industry average.
Davenport entered the securities industry in 1986. From November 2012 until May 2014 Davenport was associated with FSC Securities Corporation. From May 2014 until October 2016 Davenport was associated with Securities America, Inc. Finally, since October 2016 Davenport has been registered with Liberty Partners out of the firm’s Norwalk, Connecticut office location.
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.