Wherever there are British expats with money, there’s a DeVere Group office not far away. And in many of those places, the company’s aggressive sales tactics or high fees have drawn the attention of regulators.
Now the financial-advisory firm, which says it has attracted $12 billion in assets, including more than $500 million in the U.S., is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to five former employees informed of the probe by management before they left. About half of the salesmen in DeVere’s New York office have quit or been fired in recent weeks, they say.
Among the irregularities, according to the former employees: The firm for years charged upfront commissions on some investments, even though its SEC registration didn’t allow such fees. Three of the former employees, all of whom asked for anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said some salesmen had cocaine and other drugs delivered to fuel their high-pressure cold-calling. The former employees said the SEC probe concerns compliance issues and has intensified in recent months.
George Prior, a spokesman for DeVere, dismissed questions about the probe and the allegations of former employees, saying he wouldn’t discuss “unsubstantiated rumors or speculation.” Judy Burns, a spokeswoman for the SEC, declined to comment.
“A high quality, results-driven service for our clients is always at the forefront of the firm’s focus,” Prior said in an email, adding that the company was conducting a “strategic review.”
‘Massive Opportunity’
Nigel Green, a British stockbroker, started DeVere in Hong Kong about 15 years ago. He previously had worked at offshore brokerage Britex International, which ran into trouble when a high-yield fund it had been selling stopped paying investors, according to reports in the Financial Times. DeVere bought Britex in 2002, International Money Marketing reported.
Green expanded to the Middle East and Europe, and then to Shanghai, Tokyo, Thailand and Africa, according to promotional videos posted on YouTube. DeVere says it now has 80,000 clients in more than 100 countries.
“When I went abroad, I was really shocked, it was a massive opportunity,” Green said in a video posted on YouTube in 2016. “Today people want international advice.”
Prior, the spokesman for Green, declined to make him available for an interview.