Anita Lester: $200K Complaint Against Ex-Berthel Advisor

Gurnee, Illinois financial advisor Anita Lester (CRD# 4478199) recently received an investor complaint alleging that her conduct resulted in six-figure damages. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and Securities and Exchange Commission records show that the former Berthel Fisher & Company broker is currently registered as an investment advisor with Brookstone Wealth Advisors.

Ms. Lester’s BrokerCheck report discloses two investor complaints. The most recent, filed in September 2025, alleges that as a representative of Berthel Fisher & Company, she misrepresented and recommended unsuitable non-traded investment programs, The pending complaint alleges damages of $200,000.

An earlier investor complaint, filed in 2021, alleged that as a representative of Berthel Fisher & Company and Concord Investment Services, she “significantly concentrated” the customer in non-traded REITs that were unsuitable and misrepresented. In 2022 the complaint reached a settlement of $30,000. In a statement included with the disclosure, she defended herself against the allegations, stating that the client and his attorney assured her she did nothing wrong but that it was a group of Bethel Fisher executives who were at fault. “As soon as the Executives saw the evidence, they agreed to pay a settlement amount of $30,000,” she wrote. “Executives were found guilty and paid the settlement amount to [the client]. In conclusion, the complaint was never against me and I never did anything wrong to [the client].”

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Securities and Exchange Commission, Anita Lester holds 23 years of securities industry experience. Based in Gurnee, Illinois, she has been registered as an investment advisor with Brookstone Wealth Advisors since 2021. Her past registrations include Wealth Watch Advisors, BFC Planning, Berthel Fisher & Company, Concorde Investment Services, Jonathan Roberts Advisory Group, JW Cole Financial, Princor Financial Services, Park Avenue Securities, NYLife Securities, and Washington Square Securities. Her credentials include the passage of five securities industry qualifying exams: the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; the Uniform Combined State Law Examination, or Series 66; the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; and the Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Representative Examination, or Series 6. She is licensed in Florida, Illinois, and Wisconsin. (Information current as of October 8, 2025.)

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