REIT Complaint Against Former Ameriprise Advisor James Cavalier

Former New Brighton, Minnesota financial advisor James Cavalier (CRD# 1579594) recently received an investor complaint alleging misconduct related to REIT and annuity investments. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that the former Ameriprise Financial Services broker and investment advisor is not currently registered with any FINRA member firm.

Mr. Cavalier’s BrokerCheck report discloses one investor complaint. Filed in May 2022, it alleges that as a representative of Ameriprise Financial Services, he recommended unsuitable annuity products in 2013 and unsuitable real estate investment trust (REIT) products in 2014. The pending complaint alleges damages of $55,000.

FINRA’s suitability standard requires stockbrokers to “have a reasonable basis to believe” that the investment products and strategies they recommend to their clients are suitable. FINRA Rule 2111 states specifically that brokers must base their decisions about an investment’s suitability “on the information obtained through reasonable diligence of the firm or associated person to ascertain the customer’s investment profile.” That profile includes the client’s age, their net worth, their risk tolerance, their liquidity needs, their tax status, and more. “A broker’s ‘recommendation,’ which is based on the facts and circumstances of a particular case, is the triggering event for application of the rule,” the rule notes. Brokers who fail to recommend suitable investments may be held liable in the event of losses.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, James Cavalier holds 33 years of securities industry experience. He was recently registered as a broker with Ameriprise Financial Services in New Brighton, Minnesota from 1986 until 2020, and as an investment advisor from 2006 until 2020. He is not currently registered with any FINRA member firm. His credentials include the passage of four securities industry qualifying exams: the General Securities Principal Examination, or Series 24; the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63; the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; and the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE. (Information current as of October 1, 2022.)

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