The Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday that it had barred one-time financial adviser Martin A. Ruiz, who was sentenced in June to six years in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud his investment advisory clients out of their retirement savings that involved private, limited partnerships.
Ruiz had been registered with Carter Bain Wealth Management in Las Cruces, New Mexico, from 2004 to 2021, according to his Investment Adviser Public Disclosure profile on record with the SEC. According to the firm's most recent Form ADV, it had $61.6 million in client assets and 488 client accounts.
A call to Carter Bain Wealth Management Friday morning could not be completed.
As part of his settlement with the SEC, Ruiz was ordered to pay client $10.9 million in restitution.
According to the SEC, from 2011 to 2021, Ruiz solicited funds from investors, and in those solicitations "made false statements about the true nature of where and how investments would be made."
The investments Ruiz solicited "were securities in the form of limited partnerships in a fund that [he] owned and solely managed," according to the SEC.
"While ostensibly acting in his fiduciary capacity as their investment adviser, Ruiz instead induced more than a dozen such clients to invest more than $10 million in an investment fund called RAM Fund through the purchase of limited partnership interests," according to a statement from the Department of Justice. "Ruiz did not disclose to those clients that [he] controlled RAM Fund and that he planned to misappropriate their funds."
He took $8 million of client money and "spent the vast majority of the funds on personal expenses, including the purchase of a home, rent payments on several apartments, and the payment of his personal credit card bills," according to the Department of Justice.
Counting advisor moves in and out of firms requires some art as well as science.
“I'm just a big believer that based on demographics alone, we are looking at a 10-to-15 year bull market in M&A in the RIA and independent wealth space,” said Michael Belluomini, SVP of M&A at Carson Group.
As a tsunami of retirees comes crashing in, three-fifths of those surveyed believe – wrongly – that the federal safety net will cover their LTC needs.
Orion's latest update, a partnership with 11th.com, focuses on an underserved area of compliance for advisors and wealth firms.
The latest arrivals, including a 10-advisor ensemble from Ameriprise, bolster the firm's independent contractor and employee advisor channels.
Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.
How intelliflo aims to solve advisors' top tech headaches—without sacrificing the personal touch clients crave
