The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker Joel Weber. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Joel Weber has been the subject of multiple customer disputes over the course of his career.
Joel Weber is a Minnesota based securities broker. He has worked in the securities industry for thirty-two years. During his career, he has been registered with three different securities firms.
His Registrations
- Franklin Financial Services Corporation (1987-2002)
- SII Investments (2002-2017)
- Securities America (2017-Present)
The Allegations
- In January 2008, a customer alleged that he was misled by Joel Weber when liquidating a mutual fund to place funds into an existing equity indexed annuity. This case was settled for $54,000 in damages.
- In June 2009, a customer alleged that he thought the death benefit of his variable life insurance policy was guaranteed without the need for future premium payments.
- In October 2014, a customer alleged that Joel Weber misrepresented the guaranteed minimum income benefit rider for a variable annuity that had been purchased. This case was settled for $3339,049 in damages.
- In June 2018, another customer alleged their income benefit rider had been misrepresented by Joel Weber. This case was settled for $69,220 in damages.
Variable Annuities
Annuities are investment vehicles that are set up to provide individuals with income during their retirement. Essentially, an investor pays scheduled premiums up until they retire. Afterwards, they begin receiving scheduled distributions that act as their income. With fixed annuities, the amount an individual receives during their retirement is dependent on how much they paid in premiums–plus interest. A variable annuity on the other hand operates differently. The premiums that the annuity holder pays is invested into the equities market. The amount the individual receives during their retirement is dependent on how well the invested premiums performed. Variable annuities can be accompanied by what is known as a guaranteed minimum income benefit rider. This is a sort of insurance that makes sure the customer will at least receive a pre-determined amount in scheduled distributions no matter how their invested premiums performed in the market. However, like all insurance, this is not free. GMIB riders cost a lot of money and can seriously diminish any amount of growth that might occur in a variable annuity. This fact often goes undisclosed when securities brokers solicit investors to purchase variable annuities.
Oakes & Fosher Can Help
Many investors are unaware of the legal recourse available to them after losing money due to securities broker fraud and/or negligence. The truth is that investors who have lost money in this fashion may actually be entitled to damages. Oakes & Fosher dedicates its entire legal practice to helping investors across the nation. If you, or someone you know, lost money investing with Joel Weber, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation. Oakes & Fosher handles cases on a contingency basis, which means there are no fees charged unless we collect for you.
