LaTour Asset Management, LLC is an investment advisory firm headquartered in Springfield, Missouri that works with individuals, families, businesses, and retirees. According to its website, services include investment management, income and retirement planning, social security maximization, and annuity policy review. The firm also offers insurance products through LaTour Advisory Group, Inc.
Joseph Martin LaTour, is the founder of LaTour Asset Management and LaTour Advisory Group. Also, registered as a Center Street Securities broker. Other team members include investment advisors Joshua Michael LaTour and James Ward Margraf, also registered representatives of Center Street Securities.
Our team of investment attorneys and broker misconduct attorneys investigate claims of significant investment losses by Missouri investors and others who worked with LaTour Asset Management or LaTour Advisory Group. Such as financial losses related to GWG Holdings L Bonds and other products the firm sold.
Joseph LaTour Sold GWG L Bonds to CustomersIn April 2022, GWG Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in just two months. Soon after defaulting on $13.6M of payments and interest it owed L Bond investors. By mid-2022, SSEK Law Firm’s investment attorneys had already filed two Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration claims involving Joe LaTour on behalf of customers who suffered L Bond losses.
The primary respondent in both claims is Center Street Securities. LaTour is a respondent in one of the cases. Proper supervision by Center Street of the claimants’ accounts and of its broker LaTour, who appears to be self-supervised with no onsite compliance, was allegedly grossly lacking.
The claimants are two retired couples seeking up to $500K in damages. Allegedly, the couples contend that LaTour not only sold them risky, speculative, and illiquid life settlement-backed bonds. But also deliberately withheld —The Ponzi-like nature of the bonds’ repayments. Despite their desire and need for low-risk investments.
Joe LaTour also allegedly sold investors other unsuitable, illiquid investments. Such as non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs ) and non-traded business development companies (BDCs). Like with GWG L Bonds, these customers were charged hefty commissions that went into the pockets of Center Street Securities and its registered representative.
GWG L Bonds Sold Through Brokers That Operate Their Local Investment AdvisersOver 140 regional brokerage firms partnered with Emerson Equity to sell customers $1.6B of L Bonds. In return, they split high commissions of over 8% with the managing broker-dealer. Many brokers who worked for these firms also operated local investment advisory firms. However, becoming a registered representative with a brokerage firm is what grants an investment adviser the license to sell individual securities and not just provide investing advice.
It is usually the broker-dealer that an investor can pursue damages from through FINRA arbitration. In certain instances, the financial advisor involved may also become a claimant in this type of case.
According to Joseph LaTour’s CRD, he has worked 13 years in the industry. Other disclosures on his record include two regulatory filings by Missouri’s Department of Insurance in 2009 and 2010 for allegedly unapproved advertising. Those cases resulted in separate fines of $4K and $2K. Other brokerage firms where LaTour used to be a registered representative include Brookstone Capital Management and Mutual of Omaha Investor Services.
What Should You Do If You Suffered Significant Investment Losses With LaTour Asset Management?Identifying brokerage firm negligence as a cause of losses to your portfolio can be challenging. This is why you need a skilled securities law firm with a team of seasoned investment attorneys working for you. If you purchased L Bonds or another financial product through LaTour Asset Management or Latour Advisory Group and have suffered significant losses, contact SSEK Law Firm to determine whether you have grounds for a claim against the financial advisor and/or their broker-dealer.
SSEK Law Firm offers free, no-obligation consultations to navigate losses endured through LaTour A Management. Our seasoned investment attorneys have decades of experience representing retirees, conservative, and retail investors.
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