The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the alleged misconduct of securities broker Raymond Benjamin. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Raymond Benjamin is the subject of multiple pending customer complaints.
Raymond Benjamin is a Georgia based securities broker. He has worked in the securities industry for twenty-two years. During his career, he has been registered with five different securities firms.
His Registrations
- Wachovia Securities (1997-2006)
- First Union Brokerage Services (2000)
- Uvest Financial Services Group (2006-2010)
- LPL Financial (2010-2018)
- Chalice Capital Partners (2018-Present)
The Allegations
Raymond Benjamin has been the subject of two identical pending complaints. One was filed in May 2018 and the other was filed in March 2019. The customers in these cases alleged that Raymond Benjamin breached his fiduciary duty by liquidating shares of mutual funds and investing those liquidated assets in an unsuitable variable annuity. The customers also alleged that Raymond Benjamin did not disclose the fees and commissions associated with purchasing these variable annuities.
What Does This Mean?
Variable annuities are investment vehicles designed for an individual to receive income during their retirement. Essentially, the investor spends years making scheduled premium payments, or a lump sum premium, and then receives scheduled distributions during their retirement to act as their income. The premiums that the investor paid are invested into the actual equities market. Because of this, the amount that they receive in distributions is entirely dependent on how well the invested premiums performed.
The truth about variable annuities is that they are only suitable for certain types of investors. These would be investors with lower liquidity needs. This is because investors are charged outrageously high percentages if they withdraw from their variable annuity during its surrender period. Securities brokers love recommending these products despite this fact because they provide them with higher than average commissions when recommending them to investors.
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, have lost money investing with Raymond Benjamin, please contact Oakes & Fosher for a free and private consultation. We work on a contingency basis, which means there are no fees charged unless we collect for you.
