Chris Leeper Raymond James – Faced a $500,000 Dispute
Finding a competent advisor is among the most difficult things you can do. That’s because you’d trust your wealth advisor with the future of your business, family, team, and your own. You should narrow down your search by removing the bad ones from the bunch. One such advisor you should avoid is Chris Leeper, Raymond James.
He faced a $500,000+ dispute from one of his clients for misrepresentation, breach of contract, and unsuitability. Furthermore, his firm has multiple problematic provisions in its terms and conditions. The following review will shed more light on these facts:
Who is Chris Leeper Raymond James?
Chris Leeper Raymond James is a financial advisor based in Jacksonville, Florida. His office is located at 9822 Tapestry Park Circle, Jacksonville, FL 32246, US, and his contact number is 904-642-3257.
Chris Leeper runs Meinrod & Leeper Wealth Management of Raymond James. His firm claims to offer thoughtful guidance and objective advice so that clients can achieve their financial goals.
They also claim to offer custom-tailored financial strategies to every client. They offer various services here including longevity planning, financial planning, corporate & executive services, portfolio management, estate & trust management, investment strategies, corporate retirement plans, small business planning, and risk management.
This firm has two managing directors: Adam Meinrod and Chris Leeper. Other notable people at this firm are Steven Bushman, Kristin Allen, and Sean Suarez.
While this firm makes plenty of attractive claims about its expertise, the disclosures suggest they are not to be trusted. The following section of this review will shed more light on their problem-causing disclosures:
Hidden Issues in Chris Leeper Raymond James’ Disclosures:
History of Unsuitability and Misrepresentation
When you look for a new wealth advisor, it’s best to check their FINRA BrokerCheck listing. FINRA BrokerCheck is a vast database where you can learn about the advisor’s certifications, professional experience, state licenses, and most importantly, the legal conflicts they have had with authorities and clients.
The FINRA BrokerCheck profile of Chris Leeper Raymond James reveals two legal disputes.
His first dispute occurred in 2001. Here, the client alleged that Chris made unsuitable investments but his firm denied the claim without specifying any reasons why.
Did You Know?
The most significant establishment in the American consumer history is the ‘ Dodd-Frank Act’. The Act prevents the risk, ceasing the occurrence of a complete financial crisis. The Act also provides common-sense protection for American families by preventing exploitation from pay-day lenders and mortgage firms.
Furthermore, there is no information available on the damages requested.
Chris Leeper Raymond James faced his second dispute in 2010. Here, the client alleged unsuitability, failure to protect assets, misrepresentation, and breach of fiduciary duty between 2005 and 2010.
They requested $570,000 in damages and settled the case for $47,500.
Chris denied all allegations of wrongdoing and claimed that Raymond James settled the case to save on the costs of defense.
Many suspicious financial advisors avoid taking responsibility as Chris has done. However, facing a $500,000+ lawsuit for unsuitability and misrepresentation is no small matter. It shows that Chris Leeper Raymond James has a history of ignoring his clients’ interests.
Putting Clients at Excessive Risk
According to the terms and conditions of Chris Leeper’s firm, they recommend investments that charge performance-based fees. When an advisor charges performance-based fees, they earn only when they beat a specific benchmark.
This incentivizes them to pursue high-risk strategies. Such strategies rarely generate positive returns for investors and are particularly dangerous in volatile markets.
High-risk strategies can cause you to suffer significant losses. But if you lose a chunk of your invested capital because of the high-risk recommendations of your advisor, you can’t hold him responsible for it.
On the other hand, if these strategies generate any positive returns, your advisor can charge you hefty fees for it.
This fee structure is particularly unsuitable for large portfolios looking for long-term growth.
Performing Side-by-Side Management
One of the worst practices in the wealth management industry is side-by-side management. Here, an advisory firm handles large portfolios and small accounts at the same time.
Firms that perform side-by-side management tend to allocate most of their resources to their larger clients, leaving little to nothing for their mid-sized and smaller clients. To cater to their smaller clients, they tend to give generalized, cookie-cutter advice.
Such firms perform a small evaluation of the smaller portfolios and give cookie-cutter recommendations. Although these recommendations might offer “some” returns, they would be nowhere near the returns they can get.
Every investor requires individual attention but firms that perform side-by-side management, fail to provide the same.
If you’re an investor with a mid-sized or smaller portfolio, it would be best for you to avoid an advisor who performs side-by-side management. Sadly, Chris Leeper Raymond James is one of them.
Conclusion
Whether you are looking for corporate retirement planning services or longevity planning, Chris Leeper Raymond James is not the advisor you should go with.
He has a history of giving unsuitable recommendations to his clients. Also, his firm follows an extremely notorious fee structure and mistreats its smaller clients.
You should look for a different wealth advisor in Florida.
