The law firm of Oakes & Fosher is presently investigating the possible misconduct of securities broker Xavier Patino. According to his publicly available FINRA BrokerCheck report, Xavier Patino has been the subject of a FINRA sanction.
Xavier Patino is an Illinois based securities broker. He has worked in the securities industry for twelve years. During his career, he has been registered with three different securities firms.
His Registrations
- Chase Investment Services Corp. (2008-2012)
- J.P. Morgan Securities (2012-2017)
- Newbridge Securities (2017-Present)
The Allegations
In June 2018, Xavier Patino was sanctioned by FINRA. The findings in this matter state that Patino made material misstatements to a customer by guaranteeing said customer they would not occur any losses from a purchased variable annuity. Before the sale of the annuity, the customer presented a document to Patino that stated she would not lose her principal investment. This was a document was not approved by J.P. Morgan Securities, however, Patino still signed it in order to complete the sale. Due to his alleged actions in this matter, Xavier Patino was fined $10,000, suspended by FINRA from acting as a securities broker in any fashion for a period of six months, and was terminated from his position at J.P. Morgan Securities.
Variable Annuities
Annuities are investment vehicles in which a customer makes principal payments up until a certain date at which point they begin receiving scheduled distributions during their retirement. A fixed annuity is very straight forward, where the customer makes payments, and then receives their distributions during their retirement. The income equates to what they paid into it–with interest. Variable annuities, on the other hand, operate a little differently. The principal payments the investor pays are invested in the stock market. Thus the amount an individual receives during their retirement is dependent on how their money had been invested.
The truth is that variable annuities can be very unnecessary for a large amount of investors. This is because these products are incredibly illiquid. Annuities come with what is known as a “surrender period.” This is a period before the customer begins receiving their distributions. If a customer needs to withdraw money from their annuity during this period, they can be charged a surrender fee that can be as high as 20%. Omitting surrender charges is often how many securities brokers are able to successfully push annuities onto customers that are not suited for them.
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 Xavier Patino, 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.
