[DAVES]

Originally Posted by SallyB

Thank you for your response. Reading todays update I have very little hope for my parents. GWG has $1.2 Billion in L Bond debt. The life policies they own will not cover the bond debt. Now GWG is looking into Chapter 7 bankruptcy I am not sure what that does to the bondholders. The court again yesterday has not approved GWG plan.
This was a Ponzi scheme everything I have researched doesn't look like the bondholders will come out whole.
My question to my parents is why you trust GWG when we now know they are crooks. Why trust Whitaker when he had no business selling theses risky bonds to seniors.

Life? Perhaps, older. My parents, both sides, have passed. Roles perhaps reverse. Why did you? How could you have? Why do I remember my mother asking me that?

CROOKS? My brother in law an accountant who was also selling investments, for me a conflict of interest, On her passing I found HE sold some TRASH to my them 86 year old mother, GUILTY? Am am guilty of stupidly trusting my sister and her crooked husband.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by phylt

Whitaker conducts some of those free lunches with a ‘seminar’ in TV sometimes. Thanks for the heads up. Wonder if he has suits outstanding here.

So many intelligent people are taken by scams. Unethical practices.

We are supposed to learn. I confess I too have been taken but fortunately for at most $100.

As a kid, I sent away for FREE POSTAGE STAMPS used to advertised on matchbook covers. My allowance was like a quarter a week. Hey, inflation. That would cover a slice of pizza and a small coke. I sent in a coupon from a bus for
FLORIDA LAND. Remember the under water Florida land sales?

Mom, long gone, told me never to sign anything without reading it. I get many strange reactions insisting on this. How many times are we presented with a blank keypad-sign here.

We should ALL insist on reading what you are signing. That form is to protect NOT YOU but the people telling YOU there is no reason to read it.

[MDFlyer]

Originally Posted by DAVES

So many intelligent people are taken by scams. Unethical practices.

We are supposed to learn. I confess I too have been taken but fortunately for at most $100.

As a kid, I sent away for FREE POSTAGE STAMPS used to advertised on matchbook covers. My allowance was like a quarter a week. Hey, inflation. That would cover a slice of pizza and a small coke. I sent in a coupon from a bus for
FLORIDA LAND. Remember the under water Florida land sales?

Mom, long gone, told me never to sign anything without reading it. I get many strange reactions insisting on this. How many times are we presented with a blank keypad-sign here.

We should ALL insist on reading what you are signing. That form is to protect NOT YOU but the people telling YOU there is no reason to read it.

Yes, it seems the older we get the more people like Michael L Whitaker and Associates to see us as targets for them to take advantage of. I hope this thread has been some help in saving others thinking of dealing with Whitaker. Of course, he says he only gives advice but the client makes the final decision. True but isn't he being paid to guide his clients to make the correct decisions? While it will not help me recover any of my money I hope that Michael L Whtaker also has to pay the price for the selfish, self serving why he "guided the lambs to slaughter".

[Plinker]

Originally Posted by MDFlyer

Yes, it seems the older we get the more people like Michael L Whitaker and Associates to see us as targets for them to take advantage of. I hope this thread has been some help in saving others thinking of dealing with Whitaker. Of course, he says he only gives advice but the client makes the final decision. True but isn't he being paid to guide his clients to make the correct decisions? While it will not help me recover any of my money I hope that Michael L Whtaker also has to pay the price for the selfish, self serving why he "guided the lambs to slaughter".

You bring up an interesting point. Mr. Whitaker made a hefty commission selling these inappropriate high-risk bonds to seniors. Did he also charge a AUM (assets under management) fee yearly to MANAGE these bonds? In other words, double dipping? For example, if he sold you $100,000 worth of L-bonds and charged you a typical 1% annual AUM fee, did he not garnish $1000 from your account annually? If yes, is he not potentially guilty of MISMANAGING this portion of your portfolio while he was aware of GWG troubles? After all, his financial gain extended beyond his commission and therefore, perhaps, his liability.

[MDFlyer]

Originally Posted by Plinker

You bring up an interesting point. Mr. Whitaker made a hefty commission selling these inappropriate high-risk bonds to seniors. Did he also charge a AUM (assets under management) fee yearly to MANAGE these bonds? In other words, double dipping? For example, if he sold you $100,000 worth of L-bonds and charged you a typical 1% annual AUM fee, did he not garnish $1000 from your account annually? If yes, is he not potentially guilty of MISMANAGING this portion of your portfolio while he was aware of GWG troubles? After all, his financial gain extended beyond his commission and therefore, perhaps, his liability.

Whitaker is not alone, although he is one of the best-known in this area. In my opinion, he is the worst of the breed because he not only lured in new clients with the GWG-sponsored golf tournaments and dinners combined with the slogan about Michael L Whitaker being in business for 38 years, but he turned on clients that had been with him for many years and had grown to trust him and his firm.

[SallyB]

Originally Posted by MDFlyer

Yes, Michael L Whitaker pushed the sale of GWG as part of our portfolio with his company. He had many dinners and golf outings sponsored by GWG. If GWG were drugs I would call him a drug pusher. There were other events, that involved investments by my son, that did not look like he was acting as a fiduciary and only in it for the commissions. High risk = High Commissions, Often trades = More Commissions and as the wheel turns it goes faster and faster until it is out of control. The worst part and most telling, in my mind was he did not get us out when he knew they had missed mandatory reporting dates.

Just read that GWG stopped buying life insurance policy in 2019 which made the L Bond have no market value.

Again, we have to ask why Michael didn't know this or did he and just kept selling them anyways.

Why didn't Michael let his clients know the second he knew the company missed their filing deadline with the SEC and give the people the option to stay in or sell. Would he have lost commissions?

[MDFlyer]

Originally Posted by SallyB

Just read that GWG stopped buying life insurance policy in 2019 which made the L Bond have no market value.

Again, we have to ask why Michael didn't know this or did he and just kept selling them anyways.

Why didn't Michael let his clients know the second he knew the company missed their filing deadline with the SEC and give the people the option to stay in or sell. Would he have lost commissions?

The reason he continued to ignore his responsibility to be a fiduciary is MONEY. As a business grows and is successful the management gets used to the lifestyle that comes with that success. It is very hard to admit to friends and family that you need to adjust your lifestyle so you find alternative ways to keep the income flowing. In the case of GWG, high commissions meant the income could continue and the lifestyle did not have to change, at least not right then. We have focused on GWG but buying and selling clients' stocks, putting them in risky investments that were not appropriate for their age and portfolio, and other income-producers were also used by Michael L Whitaker and Associates.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by MDFlyer

The reason he continued to ignore his responsibility to be a fiduciary is MONEY. As a business grows and is successful the management gets used to the lifestyle that comes with that success. It is very hard to admit to friends and family that you need to adjust your lifestyle so you find alternative ways to keep the income flowing. In the case of GWG, high commissions meant the income could continue and the lifestyle did not have to change, at least not right then. We have focused on GWG but buying and selling clients' stocks, putting them in risky investments that were not appropriate for their age and portfolio, and other income-producers were also used by Michael L Whitaker and Associates.

Note that a typical stock broker or insurance salesperson is not required to be a fiduciary, unless they are providing advice on a retirement account. So, they usually cannot be held liable for selling a risky product that may not be appropriate for a client of a certain age or financial situation. It's buyer beware. The investment and insurance industries have many lobbyists working fulltime to prevent these salespeople from being required to act as fiduciaries. They are also trying to repeal the retirement account requirement. So, when you hire any financial advisor, you should demand that they certify to you, in writing, that they will act as a fiduciary when giving you advice. Although, I doubt that many insurance salespeople will provide this certification.

[MDFlyer]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Note that a typical stock broker or insurance salesperson is not required to be a fiduciary, unless they are providing advice on a retirement account. So, they usually cannot be held liable for selling a risky product that may not be appropriate for a client of a certain age or financial situation. It's buyer beware. The investment and insurance industries have many lobbyists working fulltime to prevent these salespeople from being required to act as fiduciaries. They are also trying to repeal the retirement account requirement. So, when you hire any financial advisor, you should demand that they certify to you, in writing, that they will act as a fiduciary when giving you advice. Although, I doubt that many insurance salespeople will provide this certification.

Michael L Whitaker holds himself and his company out to be a fiduciary. His ads and other material he puts out for his company also, either outright say he has to act as a fiduciary. In my opinion, anyone who is advising another person about what to do with their money should only be acting in the best interest of their clients, friend, or associates. Whitaker has always held himself and his company out to be a fiduciary to his clients. Many times breaching this responsibility for his own gain.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by MDFlyer

Michael L Whitaker holds himself and his company out to be a fiduciary. His ads and other material he puts out for his company also, either outright say he has to act as a fiduciary. In my opinion, anyone who is advising another person about what to do with their money should only be acting in the best interest of their clients, friend, or associates. Whitaker has always held himself and his company out to be a fiduciary to his clients. Many times breaching this responsibility for his own gain.

A financial advisor or insurance salesperson is not required to be a fiduciary. And, on his website, I didn't find anything that says he is a fiduciary. In fact, this is an excerpt from his website:

"The calculations do not infer that our company, or the company providing the calculators, assumes any fiduciary duties."

So, he is specifically denying fiduciary duties.

Unless you have a written certification that he agrees to be your fiduciary, I think he will deny it a lawsuit. Any reputable financial advisor who is willing to advise you as a fiduciary will gladly give you a personal letter clearly stating the fiduciary relationship.

[MDFlyer]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

A financial advisor or insurance salesperson is not required to be a fiduciary. And, on his website, I didn't find anything that says he is a fiduciary. In fact, this is an excerpt from his website:

"The calculations do not infer that our company, or the company providing the calculators, assumes any fiduciary duties."

So, he is specifically denying fiduciary duties.

Unless you have a written certification that he agrees to be your fiduciary, I think he will deny it a lawsuit. Any reputable financial advisor who is willing to advise you as a fiduciary will gladly give you a personal letter clearly stating the fiduciary relationship.

Sounds like we have a plant here defending the indefensible.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by MDFlyer

Sounds like we have a plant here defending the indefensible.

Not a plant or defending anyone. Just explaining the facts. Unscrupulous advisors do not want to be fiduciaries.

[capecoralbill]

Will it be difficult for me to move my account from Michael Whitaker to Edward Jones?
I have two IRA's and a Family Trust, all totaling under 500k.
Any comments on the Edward Jones investment firm? thank you in advance

[MDFlyer]

He was a client of Michael L Whitaker for many years and he and his company were very good initially. He has always represented himself, his employees, and his company as Fiduciaries. Keep up with the thread and you will see that others have, or have been given the exact representation Whitaker gave to us.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by capecoralbill

Will it be difficult for me to move my account from Michael Whitaker to Edward Jones?
I have two IRA's and a Family Trust, all totaling under 500k.
Any comments on the Edward Jones investment firm? thank you in advance

I don't know anything about Edward Jones. But, I am sure they will handle a direct transfer of your IRA assets to their company. If you need to liquidate the investments and purchase similar assets with Edward James, there will be no tax consequences. I don't know about the trust assets. I would suggest that you consider Fidelity or Vanguard over Edward Jones. Lower fees.