I agree with you that those investments should only have been sold to those who can tolerate the risk and potential losses.
I had a client once, of limited resources and income, who was sold tax shelters.
When tax shelters went bust she lost most of her investments.
Once again she trusted a small investment company instead of investing with bigger more reputable firms.
She sued, or went to arbitration, and she lost. The reason she lost was because they determined she was a reasonably intelligent person and should have made herself aware of what she was purchasing?
Did you look at these investments and present any questions to Whitaker…or did you blindly trust him?

If I had to describe Michael L Whitaker and Associates I would say Mike is a smooth talker. By that I mean he is gifted in the way he can present things to you to make you feel confident and assured that he is giving you the right advice for your situation. More than once I had encouraged my wife to question Mike Whitaker about questionable investments and why he was advising her to buy or sell certain investments. As recently as last summer my wife made an appointment with Mike Whitaker to explain things and possibly close her accounts with Michael L Whitaker and Associates. I even sat in the car in his parking lot while the one and one half hour meeting went on in his office with my wife. At the end of the meeting, she came out glowing about all the wonderful things he told her he was doing for her, including GWG. About GWG he said NOT to Worry GWG had plenty of assets and we would or should get all of our money back since we were in the number one spot to be reimbursed first from any assets they had. I have heard on this forum that the I-bonds are not the highest but rather the lowest on the list of people that might get some return from GWG.

This morning I got a personal message from Michael Whitaker asking me to go back and post the corrections to the mistruths that I had made on the forum. Yes, he guessed who I was by my tag MDFLYER since he knew I was a corporate helicopter pilot and from Maryland. I made no mistruths and will not make any corrections.

Why werent u at the meeting with your wife? Is your wife more financially astute than you? Or are you like so many spouses…not insulting you…who give up total control of the finances?

It appears that Mr. Whitaker has chosen not to answer our questions. Crickets are chirping, Mr. Whitaker. Your silence speaks volumes. The OP can file a formal complaint via the FINRA website. Google “File a FINRA Broker Complaint”. Scroll to the FINRA.org website.
Also, the following link describes another financial advisor in The Villages that was aggressively selling these high-risk L-bonds to seniors and ended up with around 17 disclosures and at least 12 SEC awards.
Mr. Whittaker settled one disclosure complaint for $14,999, according to the FINRA website. I suspect Mr. Whitaker is going to have his hands full defending the sale of these bonds as a precedent has been arbitrated.

Complaint Filed Against National Securities in The Villages, Florida Over Mark Cline’s Sale of GWG L Bonds - EIN Presswire

Let's just say that my understanding of finances and financial advisors is more finely tuned. We discussed it all prior to the meeting and I knew that I was not going to like the outcome. After several meetings between the three of us or with Mike and his associates, I knew what he was going to say.

Count us in for two with FINRA. Found out today that Michael charged my wife a fee to sell off our other bad investments that he put us in. Some nerve...............

If u are financially astute..why did u buy what he suggested? I agree, in principle, he probably advised people incorrectly…but it is the responsibilty of those that invest to carefully review wht is suggested.

Why did I buy what he suggested? People paid me to fly them around in airplanes and helicopters and for some 30-plus years, they safely got what they paid for. I paid for advice to someone I thought would tell me the facts about products I could invest in and would comply with the risk factor I informed them of. Instead, as it turns out Michael L Whitaker and Associates had high commissions in mind and not my risk tolerance when advising me to purchase GWG, FS, and other high risk investments.

Whitaker has stated, in a private message to me, that he will not respond and lower himself to the level we are. He cannot admit, with positive answers, to the questions you ask because then Michael L Whitaker and Associates would not have any defense when FINRA comes knocking on his door.

[QUOTE=MDFlyer;2205145]This morning I got a personal message from Michael Whitaker asking me to go back and post the corrections to the mistruths that I had made on the forum. Yes, he guessed who I was by my tag MDFLYER since he knew I was a corporate helicopter pilot and from Maryland. I made no mistruths and will not make any corrections.[

Let’s hope that the Whittaker’s have a large Errors and Omissions insurance policy.

From the looks of his record of FINRA reports, I am sure he does. Once the GWG case is settled and the people Mike Whitaker has told not to worry GWG has plenty of money to settle the amount plus interest, start finding out they will get little or no return, FINRA lines will be very busy with people filing complaints.

Has any of Mike Whitaker's clients gotten emails from Mike explaining, falsely, why he is or has not been acting as a fiduciary for them? I think he may be trying to ward off clients from filing complaints.

It is imperative that prior to hiring a financial advisor you first visit the FINRA website and click on the brokercheck tab. For those that currently have an advisor, I encourage you to perform the same search. Many fiduciary advisors have no disclosures or you may be shocked at what you find. The Whitaker firm website lists a total of three Whitaker’s. Between the three, they have a total of 13 disclosures. This is a huge red flag and, IMO, should immediately remove this firm from consideration. Lack of due diligence can be hazardous to your wealth.