INVESTOR WARNING—Andrew Jay Lowe Sanctioned By FINRA For Sales Practice Violations And Was Discharged By His Employing Brokerage Firm Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc.

The Wolper Law Firm is currently investigating claims against Andrew Lowe, a former Financial Advisor at Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services in Centre, AL.  Andrew Lowe’s past employments include Sterne Agee Financial Services and Wachovia Securities.

In June 2018, Andrew Lowe consented to sanctions imposed by FINRA for alleged “unsuitable trading of Class A mutual fund shares.”  It was further alleged that Andrew Lowe engaged in short term trading of mutual funds, which caused customers to pay excessive “load” fees.  Load fees are embedded expenses with a mutual fund that are passed along to the customer.

Customers often do not understand the fee structure associated with the purchase of mutual funds.  With Class A mutual funds, the customer pays a higher upfront 12b-1 fee (marketing and distribution fees) but carry a lower expense ratio (i.e., ongoing management fees).  For this reason, Class A shares should be held for longer periods of time to justify the higher upfront cost.  In contrast, Class B and Class C mutual funds typically have lower up-front fees and higher expense ratios.  If your Financial Advisor actively trades your mutual fund portfolio, this may be an indication of excessive trading or churning.

In addition to the aforementioned censure, Andrew Lowe has a prior customer complaint and several judgments/liens reflected on his FINRA BrokerCheck.

If you or someone you know was a customer of Andrew Lowe and you experienced investment losses, please contact the Wolper Law Firm at 800.931.8452 or by email at mwolper@67.43.6.64 to discuss your specific situation and the legal options available.  The Wolper Law Firm represents investors nationwide in securities litigation and arbitration.