For now, I am working with others on Michael L Whitaker's written confession that he was not and did not provide my wife with advice that ultimately led to the loss of many thousands of dollars. I will publish Michael L Whitaker's email in due time if this thread is still active.

Very well, I'll do this for you: CLU status can be revoked for misconduct or breaching the code of ethics. Per Investopedia

CLU is granted by the American College of Financial Services their email contact can be found here: Contact Us | The American College of Financial Services

Did anyone else that is following this thread get such a letter from Michael L Whitaker and Associates?

Interesting info shared with MD on this

Quick question: can a CHFC (Chartered Financial Consultant) have fiduciary duty on one of your accounts but not another one.
Example: Fiduciary duty on IRA but not on Individual, Joint or Trust accounts
Fiduciary duty on Managed accounts but not on Fee Base accounts
If all your accounts are with a broker without or with CHFC like Michael, would he not have the fiduciary duty on ALL your accounts he is overseeing / managing?

As I understand it, a financial advisor is not required to be a fiduciary, except when they are advising you about a retirement account. But, they can choose to be a fiduciary, in which case, they should provide their clients with a letter clearly stating that they will act as a fiducuary. Many advisors, especially those who sell insurance products, like annuities, do not want to be a fiduciary because they want to reduce the liability to their clients. Reading the information on Mr. Whitaker's website, it is pretty clear that he does not want to have a fiduciary relationship with his clients. For example, here is an excerpt from the financial planning section of his website:

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

In order to be. CLU, which Michael Sr. is, he has to conduct ALL business with the client as a fiduciary. I imagine it is the same for CHFC as is is granted by the same institution that grants the CLU credentials.

It is my understanding that when you use the credentials, you are saying that is what you are representing yourself as. Michael L Whitaker, in every correspondence, identifies by (cut and pasted) Thank you,

Michael L. Whitaker

Chartered Financial Consultant

The planning Calculators section is not advice from Michael L Whitaker. It is for self-use and just points to other websites that provide information of various types. I agree that Michael L Whitaker does not directly support this information but even pointing to the sites may be considered as providing financial advice. Bottom line is that his disclaimer of not providing fiduciary information from these web pages ONLY applies to this area of his information. Face to Face advice is provided as a fiduciary in all other areas since he represents his business as a Chartered Financial Consultant.

Note that Michael "J" Whitaker is only listed as a "financial advisor" on the company website, with no professional designations. Also, note that the terms chfc, clu, and cfp are all private designations that require compliance with a private code of ethics, but I don't think they are held to any specific legal advisory duties by any state or Federal laws, except the Department of Labor law for retirement accounts.

Cut an pasted from Michael L Whitaker and Associates web page : Michael L Whitaker & Associates, LLC is an independent firm with securities offered through Newbridge Securities Corporation, member FINRA, SIPC. Investment Advisory services through Newbridge Financial Services Group, Inc., an SEC Registered Investment Advisor.

FINRA at least requires agencies to be fiduciaries.

That's odd you are usually correct 123, but this time your a bit misleading here is a cut and paste from his publicly posted bio with his licenses:
Michael J. Whitaker
FINANCIAL ADVISOR
Michael began in the financial services industry in 2008 after completing his Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Central Florida with a business degree. The decision to get in the family business was an easy one. He started mentoring with his father, Michael L. Whitaker when he was 15 years old. He began his career with a 2 - 15 insurance license, and then went on to obtain the General Securities Series 7 certification as well as the Series 66 Fiduciary license. Michael loves solving complex problems for people using teamwork and bringing fresh ideas to the table. His Villages office is supported by two administrators and 3 associates. Michael understand the importance of planning ahead for family, as he has been blessed with three children.

Sounds like its time for Vito & Rocco to show up. They should be getting out of Coleman by Friday I think.

Seriously my heart belled for your parents. I wish I could do something or suggest something that could help. Damn, these guys that pull these stunts.

I was pointing out that Michael Whitaker, the father, is presented on the website as a CLU and CHFC, but Michael Whitaker, the son, is presented only as a financial advisor, with no designations. I don't know if this has anything to do with their fiduciary duties or not.

CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that defendants made false statements and/or concealed that: (i) Defendants intended to, and did, misappropriate GWG assets, (ii) GWG's life insurance investment business had failed, and (iii) GWG could only repay prior investors by issuing increasing amounts of securities to new investors. In essence, Defendants had turned GWG into a Ponzi scheme.
This is information from the Class Action Lawsuit.
Again I would like Michael, Mike1206 explain again how this is not a Ponzi Scheme