Arete Advisor Dennis Thurman: $100K-$500K GWG L Bond Complaint

Chicago financial advisor Dennis Thurman (CRD# 2342398) allegedly recommended unsuitable GWG L bonds, according to a recent investor complaint. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that he is a broker and an investment advisor with Arete Wealth Management.

Mr. Thurman’s BrokerCheck report discloses several investor complaints. The most recent, filed in October 2022, alleges that he made an unsuitable recommendation to invest in GWG L bonds. The pending complaint alleges damages of $100,000 to $500,000.

In a statement included with the pending complaint’s disclosure, Mr. Thurman described the allegations as “meritless” and asserted that they were only brought after the L bonds suspended interest payments and redemptions when the parent company reorganized. “The decision to invest in an GWG L bond,” he wrote, “was made after all potential investment risks were fully disclosed and approved in-person by the grantor-trustee, power of attorney, beneficiary co-trustee, and a co-beneficiary of the trust by marriage (son in-law).”

An earlier investor complaint, filed in 2013, alleged that as a representative of First Allied Securities, he committed fraud, made misrepresentations of material facts, acted negligently, breached contract, breached his fiduciary duty. The complaint reached a settlement of $1,780,000.

A third investor complaint, filed in 2012, alleged that he committed fraud, breached contract, made misrepresentations of material facts, breached his fiduciary duty, and violated South Dakota law while at First Allied Securities. In 2014 the complaint reached a settlement of $94,000.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Dennis Thurman holds 29 years of securities industry experience. Based in Chicago, Illinois, he has been a broker and an investment advisor with Arete Wealth Management since 2016. His past registrations include First Allied Securities (Sioux Falls, South Dakota; 1993-2015) and First Affiliated Securities (La Jolla, California; 1993-1995). His credentials include the passage of four securities industry qualifying exams: the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; and the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, or Series 65.  He currently holds 21 state licenses. (Information current as of February 3, 2023.)

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