Phillip Valadez – Wells Fargo Advisors

As my elderly father’s financial advisor for 12+ years, Phillip Valadez advised him to participate in high-​risk, complex investments such as margin calls, failed mortgage/​stock market schemes, variable annuity insurance policies (at age 70), and extremely aggressive investment portfolios that cumulatively cost him over $ 100k.
Mr. Valadez first approached my father at a Rotary Club Breakfast and pursued him until he eventually gained his trust. Apparently he finds many of his clients by attending events with a large number of senior retirees and aggresively soliciting their business.
Mr. Valadez has a formal complaint filed against him while he was employed at Prudential Securities Inc. for «a customer initiated, investment-​related written complaint containing allegations that the broker engaged in sales practice violations resulting in compensatory damages of at least $ 5,000, forgery, theft, or misappropriation, or conversion of funds or securities»… as reported by FINRA the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Hopefully this post will serve as a warning to anyone seeking a trustworthy and ethical financial advisor in the San Antonio area.
Update as of February 24, 2014. The Texas Department of Insurance reviewed the issue of Mr. Valadez selling my father a flexible premium life policy that was not suitable for someone that was 70 years old. The Texas State Insurance Code statue does not apply to this type of coverage and they have referred the matter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for review as they regulate the license needed to sell flexible premium life policies. I will pursue this with both organizations and hope to have a resolution soon. As noted above, Mr. Valdez already has a history of sales practice violations with FINRA.
Update as of November 7, 2014. I received notification from the Texas State Securities Board that they are continuing to investigate the complaint filed against Phillip Valadez. In addition, the Texas Department of Insurance informed me that the existing Texas Insurance Code regarding suitability does not apply to this type of coverage so this is outside the scope of their authority. They recommended that I contact the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) as they are the organizations that regulate the licenses needed to sell variable life annuity policies.
Mr. Valadez already has a formal complaint filed against him at FINRA as mentioned in my earlier post. I have now filed a second complaint and I’m awaiting a response from that organization. I will file an additional complaint with the SEC in the next week.
Thankfully there are regulatory organizations that exist to protect the public against predators who target and take advantage of the elderly, as was the case with my father. I sincerely hope that by drawing attention to Mr. Valadez’s reprehensible activities others can avoid becoming victims of financial fraud.