LPL Financial May Owe Refunds to New Hampshire REIT Investors

LPL Financial May Owe $8 million in Refunds to New Hampshire REIT Investors

LPL Financial, the nations largest independent brokerage firm, may have to refund $8 million to clients as part of a settlement it reached with New Hampshire securities regulators over sales of non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs). LPL entered into a settlement with New Hampshire regulators in December 2015 after the securities regulator investigated LPL’s sales of REITs to elderly New Hampshire residents. LPL paid a $750,000 fine and offered to refund any New Hampshire client who was sold a non-traded REIT since 2007 if the sale violated LPL’s guidelines or restrictions. As part of the 2015 settlement, LPL was required to hire a third-party to review LPL’s non-traded REIT sales to determine whether LPL’s guidelines were violated.

That recently completed review found that more than 200 New Hampshire residents are eligible for total refunds of about $8 million, or an average of about $40,000 per client. The $8 million represents the total purchase amount of the REITs that the customers bought. Clients who still own the REITs would have to give the shares back to LPL in exchange for a refund. LPL customers who are eligible for a refund should receive letters describing LPLs refund offer.

LPL Has a History of Problems

This news should come as no surprise to readers of this blog, as we previously have reported about LPL’s repeated regulatory and supervisory problems. In 2014 and 2015 alone, LPL paid more than $70 million in regulatory fines and restitution to clients.

Did you Invest with LPL Financial?

If you lost money in your LPL brokerage account you may have a valid claim to recover your investment losses. The attorneys at Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein, P.A. help investment fraud and stockbroker negligence victims throughout the United States. Our lawyers have recovered more than $100 million from banks and brokerage firms for their wrongful actions.