Were You Affected By Inland American, Inland Western REITs?
Unsuitable investments in Inland American Real Estate Trust and the Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust have become a growing source of concern for more investors these days. In many cases, sales of Inland REITs were appropriate from the start for some investors. Why? Because the broker/dealers behind the deals failed to disclose all of the necessary information associated with the products, including the high commissions that the REITs commanded. In some instances, those fees exceeded 15%.
The Inland REITs are considered unlisted REITs; they do not trade on national stock exchanges. Redemptions in unlisted REITs are limited and almost always have a minimum holding period. If investors want to exit an unlisted REIT entirely, they usually can only do so at specified times.
Perhaps the biggest criticism of unlisted REITs has to do with their lack of transparency. Unlisted REITs also typically come with no independent source of performance data. Moreover, critics of unlisted REITs cite the often vague prospectus language regarding their formal exit strategies.
In recent months, we’ve heard from several investors who say their broker/dealer never discussed the various risks that investors take on when they purchase shares of an unlisted REIT. In reviewing these complaints, we’ve also discovered that some investors were kept in the dark about the fact that their investment in an unlisted REIT could literally be tied up for an undetermined amount of time in the event the REIT suspends its share-repurchase program.
That’s exactly what happened with Inland American, which suspended its buyback program in March 2009. Investors had two options: Hold onto their shares until buybacks become re-instated or attempt to sell their share, at a significant loss, on the secondary market.
If you believe your broker/dealer failed to provide adequate information concerning investments in the Inland American Real Estate Trust, the Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust or another unlisted REIT, contact us.
March 5th, 2010 at 10:15 am
My husband, Thomas, and I were sold both the Inland American and Inland Western REIT by our Amerprise finanical advisor. We are certain that these REITS were offered to us because they were lucrative for the advisor. We stated that we were planning to retire in a few years. These investments were not appropriate to our needs. We want justice (and monetary damages) so that Ameriprise can pay. I am also aware of the SEC ruling of July 10, 2009 against Ameriprise for the Carey and CNL REITS. These were also sold to us by Ameriprise. We want these people to pay for lining their pockets and making us continue to work instead of enjoying our retirement.
Please contact me. We want to right the wrongs perpetrated by Ameriprise.
Sincerely,
Maryanne
March 30th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
My wife and I were also sold Inland Western REIT shares and were not advised of the risks which have resulted in devaluing of the investment with the addition of non-liquidity. I would like to join in any class action against Ameriprise and/or Inland.
Ronald
April 23rd, 2010 at 11:59 am
My wife and I were also sold Inland Western REIT shares thru Ameriprise and were not advised of the risks which have resulted in devaluing of the investment with the addition of non-liquidity. I would like to join in any class action against Ameriprise and/or Inland.
Jerry
April 29th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
I was sold Inland American REIT shares through Ameriprise and I do believe I was not thoroughly advised of the risks associated with the investment. I was told I could buy back in a couple of years and when a cash setback occurred was stunned to find out that the buyback program was suspended. My Ameriprise advisor had assured me only months before that everything was okay with Inland and that I had “no worries” if I needed to get money out. As a result of the suspended program I have already lost a significant amount of money from having to sell some of my shares on the secondary market because of my financial crisis. I would love to know if any thing can be done about this!
April 29th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Was sold Inland Western REIT through Ameriprise in 2005 and was told I could probably sell after one year. Financial Advisor told me his mother just loved getting the monthly checks. Actually I did also until I needed cash for dental implants in 2007 and advised me to take out of CD savings instead. Again in 2008 he told me the downturn in real estate mkt. only opened new opportunities for Inland and it would be crazy to cash in. At this point, I contacted Inland directly and was told they were unable to buy back the units. Also, had CNL thru Ameriprise and which resulted in a loss. Don’t want to be burned again. Am real curious about amount of commission Ameriprise received on both these transactions. It was not clear on the confirmations.
May 31st, 2010 at 7:28 pm
I purchased shares thru “Financial Solutions” and have the same problem as those above.
Contacted the main office and was assigned a case manager. The independent broker lied to the case manager and said he never told me “things
were ok with Inland Western” when I wanted to sell my shares and that I could sell them later even if the re-purchase program closed. The broker never warned me of any risk of devaluing of the investment with the addition of non-liquidity.
June 4th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
I purchased shares based on the recommendation of the advisor at my bank for my mother who is a senior living on social security and dividends from her savings. He suggested that it was a very solid and secure investment and not likely to lose value and that I would be able to liquidate it without penalty after 5 years or with a decreasing penalty up to that point. Now it is 4 years later and I find out I can’t sell my shares even at a penalty. I’m very upset. My mother is dependent on this money and I feel like I’ve been duped. This is indicative of a fraudulent system that takes advantage of hard-working people in order to benefit the wealthy few. Disgusting. I hope someone will put together a class-action lawsuit so that shareholders can recover their funds. At this point I’d be happy to cash it in at a 5 or 10% loss but that scenario doesn’t look plausible right now.
June 15th, 2010 at 9:52 am
I was sold my shares by Atlanta Capitol Group and was told this was not a tipical REIT in that they were not highly leveraged and a real estate market downturn would be good buying opportunities for them. I am retired and this was a good portion of my income. I guess I will just wait and see. Maybe long term they will recover at least a portion of their losses.
August 31st, 2010 at 5:48 pm
AMeriprise Financial Advisors receive a maximum of 4.55% (equal to all ofther sales commissioned products. Inland American / Western actual pay out 7% commission to all other financial professionals.
September 14th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
My problem is the same as #4 I have a shortage of money and when I wanted to take part of the principle out was told I could not. My adviser did not tell me this. I was told I could take any money out after 1 year. what to do?
September 14th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
My husband and I retired several years ago and was guided by our Financial Adviser to invest half our IRA Retirement funds in Inland American REITS. At the time it seemed a good investment as we thought we could buy back funds as needed. In late 2008 we no longer trusted Inland American and twice asked our Financial Adviser to pull our money and roll over to our bank as the money would be insured that way. Both times he assured me that he would let me know ahead of time if Inland American was in such a bad way that we would need to do that because he would be privy to that information before us and we would have plenty of time to recover most of our funds. Didn’t happen! We found out the bad news on the Internet in 2009 and called him about it but was too late to apply for our funds. This is a Black Hole Money Pit as it stands right now. If we lose these funds it would be devastating to us.
September 21st, 2010 at 2:15 pm
My issue may be unique, but here it is. In order to purchase these unlisted REITs, one must be an accredited investor. Meaning a natural person who has individual net worth, or joint net worth with the person’s spouse, that exceeds $1 million at the time of the purchase. I barely qualified for this, and my advisor had to count my house as an asset in order for me to meet the threshold. Well under the new Dodd-Frank act, your primary residence can no longer be counted as an asset. I hope that in the near future there will be a lawsuit, and if anyone has heard of any please let us know.
October 9th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Is there going to be a class action against AMERIPRISE for sell in the Inland Western REIT’s and not disclosing all the pitfalls?
October 15th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
On October 12, 2010, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust, Inc. (the “Company”) increased the annual base salary for the following officers, effective January 1, 2011: Steven P. Grimes, Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, to $525,000; Shane C. Garrison, Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, to $350,000; Dennis K. Holland, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, to $325,000; and Niall J. Byrne, Executive Vice President and President of Property Management to $275,000. Among other reasons, the Board made these adjustments as none of the management team, other than Mr. Grimes, has had an increase in base salary during the period from January 1, 2008 through January 1, 2011, the effective date of such adjustments, while undertaking increased workloads due to the recent economic recession and the reallocation of duties of the Company’s previous President and Chief Executive Officer, who left in 2009. In addition, the Board made these adjustments at this time in view of the fact that the adjustments to the management team’s base salaries aggregated $260,000, which is less than the $375,000 in executive compensation savings achieved by the combining of the role of the Chief Financial Officer with the Chief Executive Officer. The Board has also amended the bonus arrangement for the management team, among others, to provide that bonuses, if any, will be made in shares of common stock of the Company rather than cash, if certain goals are achieved.
October 20th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
I am on the line with Iland right now with my husband. We checked online – they devalued my REIT!? How is that possible. My broker NEVER discussed that possibility. I’m down $4000!!! This crazy, considering they, Inland, keeps sending me statements telling me how great they are doing. Something is shady. I want my money back and it doesn’t look possible. Our broker should never have suggested this to us. We should never have bought in. If someone starts a lawsuit I’m in.
October 25th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Oh…all these stories sound the same as ours! Our Ameriprise mgr thought Inland American was perfect for us in 2007 as my husband rolled his 401K to Ameriprise. He NEVER addressed the fact that there’s no getting out, and from what I’ve read, it may take generations to be able to collect any monies. Fast forward, October 2010, shares are now reduced fro $10 to $8.03 a share! We lost all the reinvested dividends we made over the last years, plus add’l money that was part of the initial investment. I agree with some of the other posters that Ameriprise is in bed with Inland and rec’d a hefty commission. Class action? I say we all need to go for it!!!!
November 3rd, 2010 at 4:53 pm
I also have share I can get rid of without a substantial loss. My ex-broker advised me this was a good investment as well.
If anyone wants to organize a class action suit against Inland I’M IN!!!
November 4th, 2010 at 7:15 am
My advisor never told me about risks of this investment. In fact the very month they froze shares he met with me and told me what a nice investment it was! When it first lost money I called and he told me I would have to deal with it myself he couldn’t sell any shares for me. So far I have lost almost $40,000 of my retirement money with no chance to recoup! If there is a class action I am definitely in. Thank you!
November 6th, 2010 at 7:41 am
I was offered this reit from inland western, not being advised of the fact that I would now not be able to redeem or sell back the shares, so basically worthless, this was an example of a very safe investment??was not advised by broker that the shares could not be sold back, until I called inland western. Never advised about risks. I have called and told that the broker had some as well, perhaps he would like to purchase mine. I doubt it. Have suffered a loss. Think they were pushing a bill of goods, I think they were in bed with as well
November 7th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
We have investments with inland american and western.Sone is a 401 I rolled into it.
I was not advised it would be what it is now or something I could not get my principle money out of.
Yes,if there is anyway to get all or most of our money back from these investments,I am interested.
November 24th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
My Ameriprise advisor also told me that Inland American was a great and conservative investment that had performed well for decades throughout previous recessions. When I called my advisor to see if I should take my money out (because I had my money in long enough that no penalties were attached) due to all the economic crises I had been hearing about, he told me to not worry about it, Inland was not affected and doing great! Two months later they issued the suspension. Of course, the advisor stated, “Well, it’s always a risk — I had no idea.” Since then I have lost much money (which was supposed to be for my child’s college funds) with no ability to recoup. If there’s a class action suit I’M IN TOO!
November 28th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
We were sold the SwampLand as well by Securities Financial Management. Never told of the risks or the fact that we can’t get our money. We are at risk of being evicted due to unemployment. We have maxed out our credit cards. Can’t apply for Federal Assistance bec we have investments. But these investments are worthless and I can’t even get out of them. I want in on any class action lawsuit. Meanwhile I am supposed to pay him annual fees. He gets his money but I can’t. He wants me to stop the reinvestment and put the puny dividends into a money market account to he can get his management fees. Please keep me informed if there is a class action!!!!
December 2nd, 2010 at 12:33 am
Same story, etc., etc. I’m pissed off. I’ll lose 30% of my initial purchase investment if I sell on secondary market for $5.67/share. Help!
December 28th, 2010 at 10:33 am
We bought Inland Western on the advice of our Ameriprise “financial advisor”. Now it’s worth less than when I bought it, I can’t sell it, and TD Ameritrade is going to start charging exorbitant fees ($250 a year!) for acting as custodian for nontraditional investments. The icing on the cake is that the officers want to vote themselves a raise! Amazing arrogance. They say we can sell out when they go public but there will be such a rush to unload this turkey that the shares will go for a song.
January 24th, 2011 at 6:52 pm
I was sold this stock in 2003 by a financial adviser from whom I took a night class at a community college. I’ll bet she paid them for the chance to snag more clients. The sum was from the sale of a family farm; I was widowed and retiring in 2005 and hoped to watch my investment grow. I definitely wasn’t advised of any of the risks or details. I was duped and abused; she is now building new offices close to where I live. If I could get some help I would appreciate it.
January 28th, 2011 at 6:23 pm
My mother also invested quite a large sum in Inland American in 2007 at the suggestion of her financial advisor. Now we are trying to close her estate and are stuck with this ‘dog’. The financial advisor is telling us to sit on it and it will turn around in 2-4 years. Our alternative is to sell the shares on the secondary market at half the original cost. I guess something is better than nothing. What a rip off!!! How do we know if there will be a class action suit filed – I’m in!
February 26th, 2011 at 11:44 am
Same story as many others stated previously. We’re looking for help.
March 6th, 2011 at 2:55 am
My 85 year old grandmother wanted to invest some of her not-so-big retirement for her grandchildren to go to college on. Our private investor, who is a trusted friend of the family, told us that we would have to wait 3 years to sell our stocks back. He never said we would never be able to sell them back, that they could freeze the sell. What I really don’t understand is if the stocks are only worth $6.50, then why am I reinvesting my interest and purchasing additional stock at $10 a stock??? What will happen when they become common stock?
March 17th, 2011 at 1:17 pm
I am in the same situation as every one else after being “conned”by an Amerprise financial planner into buying this great stock that I can’t get my hands on and can’t afford to lose.I am on Social Security and in my seventies.How do these people sleep at night? Yes count me in if there is a class action suite against these thieves.
March 22nd, 2011 at 9:07 am
I’m in the same boat as everyone else here, though was sold my shares by Hantz Financial group in Michigan. Count me in with everyone else too!
April 28th, 2011 at 9:01 am
We were also sold shares in inland western around 2007 from Ameriprise Financial. There was no discussion about the risk only about what a great investment this was. What an eye opener when we found out that the buy back was suspended. Is there a class action lawsuit against Inland Western and Ameriprise Financial?
April 28th, 2011 at 5:57 pm
Count me in. I’m retired and my advisor sold me on inland for over $100K.
Inland lied to the brokers too.
What is amazing is that they make offers to buy back from investors who have small amounts of inland shares.
May 11th, 2011 at 5:34 pm
I am a Registered Investment Advisor in NC. I took on a new client with an estate account. A relative of my client who was definitely not an accredited investor was sold the Inland Western REIT. Having watched the newsflow on salaries and share repurchases for management, as well as the hyped up annual report presentation, I most definitely do not consider this a good investment vehicle. There has already been one class action suit filed against the REIT by a pension fund. Count me in on any action.
May 31st, 2011 at 9:20 pm
We are in the same boat as the Amerprise group. We were told that we could sell in one year and that was 5 years ago. We have no idea what the value of the shares are at this point.
June 7th, 2011 at 3:46 pm
My elderly father was sold this REIT a number of years ago. He passed away and I inherited the REIT. It was at this point we discovered what a poor investment this was. When we questioned the Ameriprise rep she became very hostile as she knew we were on to what she had pulled over on my poor father!! Please count me in on any class action suit or legal action. This, and all the above stories are sad, and justice should be served !
June 25th, 2011 at 10:25 pm
I would like to see some justice in the US too but unfortunately I think justice does not exist anymore in this country. My father passed away in 2008 and he left me everything in his will as I am his only child. You would think there would be no problems. Having a will and being a beneficiary on everything I have found means absolutely nothing anymore. My fathers ex whom divorced him 10 years prior heard he was dying and found lawyers who took me to court. Well the situation worked in her favor. She promised her attorneys half of everything. The DA in the particular county is now trying to remove the judge who was involved in my case. The judge has been on the news as being a biased judge among other things. I will never recover my loses because Judges have Judicial immunity and the state cannot be sued. I was told even if I could prove he took a bribe there is nothing that I can do.
So now to Inland America, I bought this about 20 days after the death of my father. My advisor basically sold it is a safe investment that was like a CD that would earn 5%. If it makes any difference it was my first investment, and I live off disability. The broker sold me a unsuitable investment. The financial advisor new that I was upset that I had just lost my father. I would like to see justice done just once. I am willing to be involved in a class action if one were to arise.
July 18th, 2011 at 1:14 am
We are all on the same boat, and we need to be united to plan either a class action lawsuit or get some hard answers from SEC.
1. Inland Western REIT, or any other similar companies, should be forced to reopen their redemption program for investors.
2. The redemption value should be based on original value that was stated on the initial offering.
3. We need to petition SEC to look into this case how these REITS companies defraud unsophisticated investors by assertin intriging and subjective information disclosed deep in documents never read by clients.
August 11th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
I am in the same sinking boat with everyone else I had a 401K that I had to move and my agent invested me in this investment approx 5 years ago. I had told the agent at the time that I was most intrested in presurving what money I had and not looking to take high risk at my age. I assumed things were fine untill I recived a letter in 2008 stating that they would no longer repurchase any shares. I am near retirement age now and have quite a bit of the investment if not all the way things are going.
August 31st, 2011 at 4:13 pm
I am another who was sold large investments in Carey CPA-16 and Inland Western private REITs over my objection that I would never purchase an illiquid investment. I was given what is surely fraudulent and deceptive assurances to the contrary. It was further not disclosed that any fees were being paid by the REITs in return for sales. This information alone would have prevented me from investing. It is time for Ameriprise to pay and pay handsomely for selling out its clients who trusted them explicitly to act in our best interest and to be open and honest concerning the investments which they purveyed to us. I not only paid them a management fee, I lined their pockets with undisclosed commissions (there were supposed to e none) and incentives to deliver sales to companies offering wholly inappropriate products for seniors who, like me, were retired and had given the company a clear guideline to not lose money, even if it meant minimal returns on investment. I was able to redeem out of Carey CPA-16 at a loss, but cannot redeem Inland Western shares without a 70% loss to vulture investors. I want to be informed of any class action or other lawsuits against Ameriprise and to be updated on any ongoing actions against this company in which I may participate.
September 30th, 2011 at 7:08 pm
My financial advisor put all my kids college funds and our investments Inland American REITs at $10 and they almost immediately downgraded to $8. I’m now being told these are likely 10+ year investments and I won’t be able to access for my kids when they start college in two years. We’ve lost a signficant amount of our investment. Now our state securities dept is contacting me and doing a full investigation on how we were approached by our investment advisor. I to am willing to join any class action lawsuit if one is filed.
October 26th, 2011 at 10:45 pm
We are same situation as every one else after being sold this by an Amerprise financial planner who neglected to explain that we would not be able to sell as needed. Due to some other issues we rolled over our financial accounts to another firm and he became hostile when we questioned why we could not move to Reits. He was all smiles when we were putting money in but became angry when we started asking questions. Count us in on any class action suits filed. We are retired and need every penny.
October 28th, 2011 at 12:21 pm
My Mother was “guided” by her financial planner to purchase IW shares in 2004 to the tune of $80,000. We both thought it was doing well until the company suspended it’s buyback program and I felt she had been duped into a crummy investment -one that was supposed to fund part of her retirement. I not only blame the company for their shady practices but also the bum who invested the monies for her. I sat right next to her while he sang the praises of IW and what a great deal it was. Would love to know the “knock out” commission he grabbed in the process. This summer my Mother passed away and I tried calling him to ask him if he was still the representative for the account. He quickly told me he no longer deals with IW – what a creep. I can’t find anyone who wants to touch it. Now I have to stomach the possibility of selling to vultures on the secondary market or sticking it out to see if things turn around. What is the foreseeable future of legal ramifications against this company? Laura
November 14th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
I was sold stock in Inland Western in 2005 by my advisor with Atlanta Capitol Group and worst than that, the money came from my Cocacola stock. HOw dumb is that?? I have read all the complaints about the situation but who, if anyone is going to do anyting about it? Could there be some sort of clearing house to assemble the complaints? constant reading about it doesn’t help.I notice with all the downturn of the stock the executives salaries seem to soar!
December 21st, 2011 at 8:57 am
I invested in this product in 2005, in October 2008, Inland sent out a mailing to all investors that we could sell off our interst. The day I received the notice I called my Financial Adviser to sell it all off. He called me back to say Inland had its quota and he could not sell my interest off. He convinced to wait and Inland would open the door again, they have not after three years.
December 31st, 2011 at 11:06 am
I was sold this stock by my Ameriprise financial advisor, and still cannot get rid of it. Ameriprise continues to inflate its value in my portfolio reports. I would be more than happy to join in any class action against Ameriprise on this issue.
January 9th, 2012 at 10:10 pm
I was sold on the virtues of Inland/REIT investments by agents of Linsco Private Ledger. I had worked with these folks for years, and trusted them implicitly. I was totally unaware of any issues with Inland until today (ignorance is bliss??). they became very evasive when I brought up the subject of withdrawing some funds. I am (was) in the process of buying my dream home and planned to tap into these funds….a significant amount… to consolidate some debt and move forward with a mortgage loan. My bubble just got burst, and somebody needs to pay. Count me in on any class action suit involving these crooks.
January 22nd, 2012 at 7:11 pm
I was advised back in ’06 to buy Inland American & have lost nearly $20,000 to date. If there’s any way to recoup some of it, count me in, too.