BOCA RATON, Fla., May 20, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a proponent of financial consumer protection recently brought attention to the manner in which annuity distributors, who are used by annuity carriers to promote their products, solicit and compensate insurance agents who push investors into certain fixed annuity products and other insurance products.
A securities advisor who steered his/her clients into products such as variable annuities was often guided to do so not by the suitability of the product for each investor but by the rewards the securities advisor would receive if he/she were able to successfully steer enough clients into a particular investment product. Five-star vacations, cruises, and jewelry were among the many forms of non-cash compensation the advisor would receive for his/her efforts. In 2003, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) prohibited the practice of paying non-cash rewards to licensed securities advisors putting an end to many of these practices. FINRA sought to halt the potential conflict between the suitability of an investment and the compensation the securities advisor might receive for ushering a client into the investment.
Silver Law Group has represented many victims of shady sales practices of insurance products. Many investors buy fixed annuities to provide proper funding for their retirement and are unaware of the hidden agendas that might be guiding their financial advisors to recommend such a product. Our firm has handled many cases on behalf of abused and manipulated investors who were wrongly steered into fixed annuities, including a recently filed lawsuit against New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation (NYLIAC) and one of its Florida-based agents, who allegedly pushed an elderly client into an in-house New York Life annuity that provided NYLIAC significant financial reward while subjecting the victim to much lower rates of return than she had been receiving on her older, more matured annuities and further subjected the victim -- 75 years old at the time of the transaction -- to a heavy monetary penalty if she were to withdraw her funds before the 15-year anniversary of her purchase. Litigation in that matter is ongoing in Flagler County, Florida.
If you have been the victim of investment fraud or have been misled by a financial professional trusted with an investment of yours, you might have the grounds upon which to assert a claim to recover your losses. Silver Law Group is a nationally-recognized securities law firm headquartered in South Florida, with satellite offices in New York and Washington, DC, representing investors worldwide with their claims for losses due to financial misconduct and consumer fraud. Scott L. Silver and David C. Silver both have Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ of “AV” Preeminent for achieving the highest ethical and legal standards. The firm has successfully recovered multi-million dollar awards for its clients through arbitration and the courts. To contact Scott L. Silver to discuss your legal matter, call toll-free (800) 975-4345 or e-mail him at SSilver@silverlaw.com.