Deals & People May 28, 2013

ING Hires Sales Head for Tax-Exempt Plans

Ernest Jordan was hired as head of tax-exempt markets sales for the institutional retirement operations of ING U.S.
Reported by

Jordan is responsible for developing and implementing the sales strategy for new and existing retirement plans. He reports to Jamie Ohl, president of tax-exempt markets for ING U.S. retirement solutions and is based in the firm’s Windsor, Connecticut, office.

Jordan brings more than 20 years of retirement industry experience and leadership to ING U.S., including administration, product development and sales management. His sales background includes extensive knowledge of institutional sales, multi-channel product distribution and specialty finance products. Jordan most recently served as managing director of MetLife Financial Group of the South, where his leadership resulted in significant sales growth and productivity for the company. His background includes more than a decade with AIG-VALIC, most recently as senior vice present for national markets and group relations, where he managed the company’s corporate strategy for growth in core market segments, including education and health care.

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Jordan holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama. He holds FINRA Series 7, 24, 51, 63 and 65 licenses and is a Certified Fund Specialist (CFS) and board certified in mutual funds (BCM).

The tax-exempt markets team’s focus is the retirement plans of employer-sponsored 403(b) and 457 savings plans in health care, education, government and the nonprofit sectors.

Compliance May 24, 2013

Atlanta RIA Allegedly Stole $2M from Investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Blake Richards, a registered representative of a broker/dealer, with misappropriating retirement savings from widows or widowers.
Reported by

Late last week, the SEC filed an emergency action seeking a temporary restraining order, charging Richards, a former affiliate of LPL Financial. The federal court of the Northern District of Georgia granted the request and issued an order that temporarily restrained Richards from further securities laws violations, froze his assets, prevented the destruction of documents and expedited discovery.

A hearing date was set for June 6 for the SEC’s request for a preliminary injunction. The SEC’s complaint also seeks a permanent injunction, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.

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The SEC’s complaint alleges that, since at least 2008, Richards misappropriated at least $2 million from at least seven investors. The majority of the misappropriated funds constituted retirement savings and/or life insurance proceeds from deceased spouses.

Richards instructed investors to write out checks to entities under his control, such as “Blake Richards Investments,” with the understanding that he would invest their funds in fixed-income assets, variable annuities and/or common stock, the SEC alleged in its complaint. None of these investments was ever made, the SEC stated. None of the investments appeared on client brokerage account statements, and Richards received no commission income from these investments. The complaint further alleges that Richards siphoned off the funds entrusted to him for personal use.

Richards’ production at LPL has been virtually nonexistent over the last few years, according to the SEC’s summary. He gave one investor a business card with the professional designation AAMS, which stands for Accredited Asset Management Specialist. The College for Financial Planning, which awards this certificate, said that Richards does not hold this designation.

The complaint alleges that Richards violated the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws, and sections of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint also alleges that Richards violated the antifraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

The SEC complaint can be downloaded here.

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