Mike Valenta: Oil & Gas Complaint Against Cambridge Advisor

Westminster, Colorado financial advisor Mike Valenta (CRD# 1386978) has received several investor complaints alleging he recommended unsuitable and/or concentrated investments. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that he is a broker and an investment advisor with Cambridge Investment Research. 

Mr. Valenta’s BrokerCheck report discloses multiple investor complaints. The most recent, filed in July 2022, alleges that as a representative of Cambridge Investment Research, he recommended unsuitable investments in real estate securities, oil and gas products, exchange-traded funds, and other investments. The pending complaint alleges unspecified damages.

A second investor complaint, filed in June 2022, alleges that Mr. Valenta recommended an investment “for the purpose of generating high commissions and fees,” and that the recommendation deprived the customers “of the ability to generate reasonable returns that would have been received in a diversified portfolio.” The pending complaint alleges unspecified damages.

A third investor complaint, filed in May 2022, similarly alleges that Mr. Valenta recommended unsuitable and un-diversified investments while a representative of Cambridge Investment Research. The pending complaint alleges damages of $800,000.

In identical statements on the above-described pending complaints’ disclosures, Mr. Valenta defended himself against the claims. “These clients are sophisticated investors who expressed desire to mitigate taxes as well as create monthly cash flow,” he wrote, continuing: “After I attended a due diligence meeting regarding this product at an annual conference, I was impressed enough to purchase the Fund myself as they promised a 7% tax-free dividend based off of oil and gas drilling in the Eagleford area in Texas, and at the time crude oil was priced very low and had significant room to increase in value.” He concluded by noting that the product was “vetted and approved” by his broker-dealer firm. 

A fourth investor complaint disclosed on Mr. Valenta’s BrokerCheck report, filed in 2009, alleged that he recommended an unsuitable variable universal life insurance policy. The complaint reached a settlement of $20,000.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Mike Valenta holds 33 years of securities industry experience. Based in Westminster, Colorado, he has been a broker and an investment advisor with Cambridge Investment Research since 2008. His past registrations include RMIN Securities, WMA Securities, Liberty Securities Corporation, PAMCO Securities and Insurance Services, FarWest Securities, Financial Programs Inc., and First Investors Corporation. His credentials include the passage of five securities industry qualifying exams: the Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Representative Examination, or Series 6; 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 holds 30 state licenses. (Information current as of August 18, 2022.)

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