Ray Lent: GWG Complaints Against Putney Financial Advisor

Multiple investor complaints against San Rafael financial advisor Ray Lent (CRD# 817645) concern investments in GWG L bonds. Records provided by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority show that he is a broker with Portsmouth Financial Services, doing business as The Putney Financial Group.

Mr. Lent’s BrokerCheck report discloses several investor complaints. The most recent, filed in February 2023, alleges that as a representative of Portsmouth Financial Services, he misrepresented and improperly recommended investments in GWG L bonds. The pending complaint alleges unspecified damages determined to exceed $5,000.

A second investor complaint, also filed in February 2023, similarly alleges improper sales of GWG L bonds while he was at Portsmouth Financial Services, as well as misrepresentations, inadequate due diligence, and failure to disclose risks. The pending complaint alleges unspecified damages.

A third investor complaint, filed in February 2023, details allegations of misrepresented or omitted risks associated with GWG L bond investments, “including the speculative nature of the bonds, prolonged illiquidity, and potential for a total loss of principal.” The pending complaint alleges unspecified damages.

Mr. Lent’s BrokerCheck report also describes a 2019 enforcement action against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC’s findings allege that he “purchased, recommended, or held for advisory clients mutual fund share classes that charged 12b-1 fees instead of lower-cost share classes of the same funds for which the clients were eligible.’ He also allegedly failed to disclose conflicts of interest relating to  his firm’s receipt of 12b-1 fees and/or its selection of share classes that involve these fees. “During the Relevant Period, Respondent and its affiliated broker and/or associated persons received 12b-1 fees for advising clients to invest in or hold such mutual fund share classes,” the sanction states, adding that he self-reported these violations to the SEC. In connection with these findings, he was issued a censure and a cease-and-desist order. He was also ordered to pay a penalty of $3,488.32 and disgorgement of $39,546.51.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Ray Lent holds 47 years of securities industry experience. Based in San Rafael, California, he has been a broker with Portsmouth Financial Services since 2010, doing business as The Putney Financial Group. His past registrations include McClurg Capital Corporation, Park Avenue Securities, Guardian Investor Services Corporation,  Centaurus Financial, Mony Securities Corporation, and The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York. His credentials include the passage of five securities industry qualifying exams: the General Securities Principal Examination, or Series 24; the Registered Representative Examination, or Series 1; the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; and the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63. He is licensed in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. (Information current as of March 10, 2023.)

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