Brian King RBC Wealth Management is a Fraud (Updated 2024)
Brian King RBC Wealth Management is a wealth advisor based in Eagle, Idaho. However, he uses unethical tactics to take funds from his clients. In the following points, you’ll learn about these unethical methods and why you should be wary of his services. This way, you can make a better-informed decision:
Who is Brian King RBC Wealth Management?
Brian King RBC Wealth is a financial advisor based in Eagle, Idaho. His address is 661 S Rivershore Ln STE 200, Eagle, ID 83616, US, and his contact number is 208-389-6812.
Brian is the managing director of the King, Barrios & Bartlett Investment Group. The firm claims to follow a highly disciplined investment philosophy to deliver a high level of service. It caters to business owners, high-net-worth individuals, and institutional foundations. Their services include insurance planning, estate planning, asset management, banking and lending needs, and wealth management planning.
Apart from Brian, other notable people at this firm are George Barrios (Senior Vice President), Nick Duncan, and Philip Bartlett.
Although this firm makes many boastful claims about its services and expertise, its disclosures indicate that it’s not as reliable as it claims to be. The firm
Hidden Disclaimers and Legal Disputes of Brian King RBC Wealth Management
$150,000 Dispute with a Client
When you start looking into a new wealth advisor, it helps to know about their professional history. The best way to go about this process is to check their FINRA BrokerCheck profile. There, you can learn about their experience, the exams they have passed, their state licenses, and the disputes they have faced.
Did You Know?
Most broker-consumer disputes are resolved by arbitration. Where, the alternative of a lawsuit in court is less preferred. As, most brokers require their customers to sign agreements at the time of accounts opening.
The FINRA BrokerCheck profile of Brian King RBC shows one legal dispute. It occurred in 2002. Here, the claimant alleged that $150,000 was placed with a high-risk money manager. They requested $150,000 in damages.
In response to this dispute, Brian simply said that this matter is under investigation. There is no additional information available on this dispute. Hence, there’s no way to verify if the investigation has been completed or is still going on.
Still, facing a $150,000 lawsuit is not a good sign. It means that Brian King RBC Wealth Management has a history of ignoring his clients’ interests. Fiduciaries rarely face a $5000 dispute in their careers and Brian has already faced a major complaint.
Putting Clients at Excessive Risk
The biggest red flag in Brian’s disclosures is that he charges performance-based fees. When an advisor charges performance-based fees, it means they earn money only when they outperform a specific index or benchmark.
This incentivizes the advisor to implement high-risk strategies, which are unsuitable for most investors. High-risk strategies yield poor or negative (losses) returns in the long run. Hence, they are particularly dangerous for investors looking for long-term growth.
Furthermore, this fee structure is unsuitable for investors who have a low-risk tolerance. Because it allows the advisor to charge a hefty fee, they have a financial incentive for ignoring your risk tolerance and follow this fee structure anyway.
What’s worse is if you suffer losses because of your advisor, you can’t hold them responsible for it. That’s because they make you sign multiple waivers which free them of any accountability whatsoever.
On the other hand, if your advisor’s high-risk strategies yield any positive returns, they can charge you a hefty fee. As you can see, a performance-based fee puts the investor in a detrimental position.
Charging 12b-1 Fees
Another huge issue in the terms and conditions of Brian’s firm is that it offers investments that charge 12b-1 fees. This is a marketing fee that goes straight into the advisor’s pockets. Companies pay the 12b-1 fee to advisors for promoting their investment products.
This fee doesn’t reflect any value and it only inflates the cost of the investments. You end up paying extra for an investment without getting any additional benefits.
The SEC conducted a detailed study to compare the returns of the investments charging the 12b-1 fee and those that don’t charge this fee. They found no difference between the returns of the two.
The study concluded that the ROI of the investments that charge a 12b-1 fee is worse than the investments that don’t charge this fee.
Also, it’s a percentage fee. This means the amount you’ll pay as fees will depend on the size of your portfolio. If you have a significant portfolio, be ready to pay a lot in 12b-1 fees.
Due to these reasons, it’s a highly notorious practice in the finance industry.
Conclusion
Brian King RBC Wealth Management may seem like a reliable wealth advisor at first. But his firm is using multiple unethical tactics to leech funds off of its clients. These provisions will put you in a very damaging position. Hence, it would be best to avoid dealing with Brian King and his firm altogether.
Find a different financial advisor in Idaho because this one isn’t worth the price.
Richard Scott Shelley
