Founded in 1984, Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc. (“TFA”) is a broker-dealer and registered investment adviser (RIA). Headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, TFA is a part of Transamerica, an American holding company for various life insurance companies and investment firms.
As of December 2022, TFA had $12.5B+ in assets under management (AUM) and 300K+ customer accounts. The firm also had 2,839 registered representatives. TFA’s brokers are licensed in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Financial Misconduct at Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc.
TFA is licensed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and as such is legally obligated to ensure its brokers are acting lawfully in the interest of their investors. If a client suffers losses as a result of negligent behavior or misconduct from a broker, then the firm may be held legally responsible to repay the damages.
TFA and brokers backed by TFA have a long history of misconduct. Per FINRA’s BrokerCheck report, the firm has 25 disclosures (19 regulatory events; 3 arbitrations; and 3 bonds).
In December 2021, FINRA initiated a claim against TFA, finding that the firm failed to reasonably supervise its registered representatives’ variable annuity recommendations and made disclosures that contained materially inaccurate information or omitted material information. As a result of this, TFA and its representatives received compensation from new variable annuity sales, trails, and contributions in dealer commissions in excess of $591M.
TFA did not provide its representatives with adequate training for completing disclosure forms required when recommending a variable annuity exchange. The resulted in some firm principals approving variable annuity exchanges based on disclosure forms that were inaccurate or missing information. Because of this, some representative lacked necessary information in order to compare share classes and make suitability determinations.
TFA overcharged accounts by $438,239. TFA was censured, fined $4.4M and ordered to pay $4.3M+ in restitution ($321,167 of which also required payment of interest).
In March 2019, the SEC alleged that TFA breached its fiduciary duty and provided inadequate disclosures in connection with its mutual fund share class selection practices and fees received. TFA purchased, recommended, or held for advisory clients, mutual fund share classes that charged 12B-1 fees instead of lower-cost share classes of the same funds for which the clients were eligible. TFA was censured and ordered to pay disgorgement of $5.36M+ and prejudgment interest of $658,780.64.
Wondering If You Have a Claim? Contact Our Firm Now!
Meyer Wilson reclaimed $350 million for the victims of investment fraud or misconduct. Our attorneys are experienced in going up against the largest investment firms, such as Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc., and our track record affirms our resources and expertise. Meyer Wilson has represented clients nationwide and internationally, in state and federal courts, and in securities arbitration. As an investor, you have a right to recover investments lost through unethical behavior or decisions made against your interests.
