[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by mike1206?

This is Michael L. Whitaker of Michael Whitaker & Associates. I am writing to address some recent posts here (and comments to those posts) that contain misleading and outright false allegations about me, as well as misleading information regarding GWG L Bonds, an investment that some of my clients own. The purpose of this post is to provide readers with the relevant facts regarding myself and the services I provide to my clients in light of the false descriptions that some people have posted here. Unfortunately, I feel this response is necessary to defend my personal and professional reputation in hopes that readers are not misled by the false information in these postings.

First and foremost, I have been in the financial services field for 38 years. For about half of that time, I worked primarily in the insurance business and was not required to be registered with a broker-or investment advisor. I have a degree in finance from the University of South Florida and I am a Chartered Financial Consultant. I began my career in the financial services industry in 1984 in and around The Villages and have strived to provide each and every one of my clients with dedicated and client-focused advice and services. I have always strived to put the interests of my clients first and foremost. My investment recommendations are not driven by the commissions and fees that a particular investment may generate, but rather by what investments I reasonably believe are in the best interest of and appropriate for my clients, given their particular objectives, needs and circumstances. I do not charge my clients unreasonable or duplicative fees or commissions (as was falsely alleged in at least one of the postings).

It has been the honor and privilege of my lifetime to serve this community as a financial services professional. The false assertion that I would knowingly recommend a “scam” investment to any of my clients is as hurtful as it is wrong. Over the course of my career, the majority of the investments that I have recommended to my clients have performed well. However, as every investor must acknowledge, virtually all investments carry some risk with them. I am confident that you also would agree with me that financial advisors do not have a “crystal ball” and cannot be expected to accurately predict the future performance of the investments they recommend. Indeed, certain investments that were reasonable and appropriate when recommended may occasionally be adversely impacted by subsequent market forces outside of a financial advisor’s control. However, that does not mean that the investment recommendation, when made (often years earlier), was in any way improper or illegal.

Such is the case with GWG L Bonds, the investment that is mentioned in certain of the posts below. At the time that I made recommendations to certain clients to consider an investment in GWG L Bonds, that company had an outstanding track record of performance, and had never missed an interest payment or a redemption request. I submit to you that I had a reasonable basis for each recommendation I made to each client who purchased this product. However, subsequent events and market forces outside my control resulted in the issuer of the GWG L Bonds filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in May 2022. This bankruptcy proceeding is ongoing, and the Debtor has advanced a bankruptcy plan to marshall the company’s substantial assets that, if approved, is likely to result in substantial distributions to investors. While the precise amount of any such distributions cannot be accurately predicted at this moment, it likewise cannot be accurately predicted whether, or to what extent, investors will ultimately realize any losses on this investment. Notably, the allegation that GWG is a “Ponzi-scheme” is not accurate and flat out false. In fact, many of the allegations posted here regarding GWG have been pulled directly from websites for attorneys attempting to solicit investors to file premature and opportunistic claims against their advisors who sold GWG L Bonds, while the company is in the midst of its efforts to return as much value as possible to its L Bond holders through the bankruptcy proceeding.

As many of you know, I pride myself on frequent communication with my clients, and the GWG situation has been no exception to that practice. I have continued to communicate with my clients regarding the status of their investments and any additional information as it becomes available. If you are interested in accurate information regarding the bankruptcy proceeding of GWG, you can find the website where all documents and updates from that proceeding are posted if you google "Donlin Recano GWG". It is the first link that comes up. Unfortunately, this thread will not allow me to include the link myself.
I am eternally grateful for the business and support my clients have shown me over the years, and I hope this additional information corrects and clarifies some of the false claims that have been posted about me recently on this forum. I invite you to contact me directly if you have any questions or want to discuss any of these issues.

Thank you for posting. Can you clear something up? Some posters have stated that you told them that you are a fiduciary, but your post doesn't include the word fiduciary in it, and your website does not claim that you are a fiduciary. Do you provide your clients a letter clearly stating that you are representing them as a fiduciary? If not, do you inform them that you are not acting as a fiduciary when providing advice?

Also, the OP claims that you told them that the GWG L bonds was not a "high risk" investment and led them to believe that it was a safe investment. But, the GWG L bond prospectus very clearly states that it is a high risk investment. So, is the OP lying or just mistaken?