I am urging anyone reading this review to NEVER get involved with this company. My disabled 80+ year old Dad who was near blind and almost completely paralyzed from a stroke was last dealing with Daniel Lerner, the son of the founder David Lerner (who BTW had his securities licence suspended for unethical behavior in recent years). As I will explain, Daniel Lerner is the lowest form of life. He's a predator who feasts on the elderly, but not everyone at David Lerner & Assoc is unethical. Over a period of time, David Lerner brokers sold my Dad hundreds of thousands of dollars of their Apple Reits. They sold him as much as they could convince him to buy. As time went on, he voluntarily placed more and more into their Apple Reits. When I found out, I was not happy, and I spoke with his broker there, Jim Math. Jim was a decent man who was honest about the fact that the Apple Reits earned their brokers huge commissions because David Lerner & Associates puts in excess of 10% of every dollar invested into their pocket. We met with Jim Math and we agreed, no more partnership investments. Now fast forward a couple of years after Jim Math apparently left the firm. I came to visit my Dad who was wheel chair bound and had a 24-7 live in home health aid and found a David Lerner & Assoc prospectus on my Dads table. I immediately asked my dad where it came from. He said; "The son of the owner, Daniel Lerner was kind enough to visit me today. I'm going to be investing in their best partnership of all, their new Energy Partnership." I asked him where he was going to find money to invest in the energy partnership. He said; "Daniel's doing me a favor and transferring all of my Apple Reit money into their Energy Partnership for no cost". I immediately explained that there was no good reason to move from one Lerner investment that you own for income into a 2nd one that is obviously more speculative (energy is super volatile), only to achieve the same income goal. I also told him that I suspected that he could be paying a huge commission to sell the illiquid Apple Reit only to transfer his $ into the Energy Partnership. I also questioned why the big shot son of the firms owner would waste his time coming to an elderly clients home unless there was a big payday in store. My Dad disagreed, telling me that the son of the owner would never lie to him. So we called Daniel Lerner. I was appalled by the nasty, cocky, know-it-all attitude that Daniel Lerner immediately exuded on the phone. He refused to answer my questions about commissions that my Dad would pay. He kept saying, "All that matters is that your father will be making more money". I asked him for something in writing confirming my Dads projected, increased windfall and he went on the attack, telling my father while we were on speaker phone: "Your son knows nothing about investments. Listening to him will cost you dearly. I'm the expert." He abruptly ended the call, telling my Dad that he will follow his plan to move my Dad's money into their Energy Partnership. My dad then raised his voice at me, telling me that I knew nothing, that Daniel Lerner was the expert and that I should let it go. I was appalled that a broker would resort to turning an elderly man against his son just to make a sale, so I called the compliance officer at David Lerner & Associates with my Dad begrudgingly on the call. I explained what just occurred with Daniel Lerner. The compliance officer gave a partial apology saying he understands my concern, that moving $ from Apple Reits to the Energy Partnership would cause my dad to pay a double digit commission and that Daniel Lerner would benefit from the transaction. At that point, my dad was only partially convinced of my claim until the compliance officer dropped a bombshell. He asked why my Dad just sold most of his stocks, bonds and other liquid assets in his David Lerner & Associates account? My Dad immediately went stiff in his wheel chair as I saw the light bulb go off in his head. He yelled into the speaker phone to the compliance officer: "That son of a b--ch Daniel Lerner is a thief!! I told him expressly not to sell my stocks and bonds but he did, all to churn my account and build himself a new swimming pool." The compliance officer then apologized for the "misunderstanding", offered to restore my Dad's stock and bond positions in his account that were sold without authorization, promised to cancel the huge Energy Partnership order that Daniel Lerner had set up and he promised that Daniel Lerner would never contact my Dad again. But it was too late. My Dad was done with David Lerner & Associates. In summary, Daniel Lerner has no shame and has no moral compass. Avoid him like the plague. As a side note, I've been too busy recently dealing the untimely death of my Mom and the ill health of Dad. It's the only reason why I didn't post this review sooner. But my Dad passed away recently. I wrote this review for him. read more

Before I relate my story, it is worth your time to read the other comments on this website. They echo the unfortunate experiences felt by my mother in law over the past three years. During the past 2 1/2 years eleven clients gave DLA a "1 Star" rating. Their comments included: o "Their Service is horrible", o "They go after unsuspecting elderly customers". o "You're better off giving your money to the guy on the corner", o "They're main interest is to make more money out of your money", o "The lack of transparency and dishonesty is unmatched", o "I was totally misled into investing in energy 12 fund", o "I got taken", o "I got sold lousy, proprietary products that yielded great results for David Lerner" o "They are scammers who prey on unsophisticated investors". The above comments do not include any mentioned by "MARC W"! You must read his comments. In March 2019, my 92 year old mother in law, who had been an investor for 21 years, met with DANIEL LERNER, her Investment Counselor (IC), to sell the assets she invested in three Puerto Rico Bond funds. They had accumulated unrealized losses of over $13k since they were purchased. The net proceeds of that transaction plus the spontaneous sale of Apple REITS left over $60,000 in cash ready to invest. Instead of discussing investment options DANIEL LERNER (IC) made only ONE recommendation and deceitfully sold her $60,000 of the ENERGY RESOURCES 12 (ER12) fund. She later learned that this fund was a high risk, illiquid, non traded, Limited Partnership, with no access to this money for at least 5 to 7 years AND a 6% commission. If any of those words had been verbalized during the March meeting she would not have agreed to purchase this fund. Her dissatisfaction with DLA resulted her trying to end her relationship with DLA in July 2019. She liquidated all of her assets with the exception of ER12 which they refused to sell claiming that she was aware of the minimum 5 to 7 year waiting period. More than a dozen letters have been written to DLA Senior Management requesting answers to many questions and they have chosen to ignore most of them. DANIEL LERNER was replaced last July. This entire matter was referred to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and we have been cooperating with them. The following fully documented issues are being investigated and legally pursued: 1. Falsification of DLA Records completed by my mother in law; 2. Misrepresentations or omissions of fact; 3. Failure to answer questions; and 4. FORGERY. If you are reading this and considering becoming a client, choose another financial institution. My mother in law has lost tens of thousands of dollars over the past two decades. DLA does not care about its clients. They use deceitful selling techniques, and rarely respond to questions. Use "Brokercheck" when selecting another investment firm. DLA has been fined by FINRA and has 38 "Disclosures". In the end, you have to ask yourself .....What kind of a moral compass and ethical standard does David Lerner Associates have to recommend to a 92 year old widower, living on Social Security and investment income, A HIGH RISK, ILLIQUID, NON TRADED, LIMITED PARTNERSHIP with no access to their money for at least 5 to 7 years AND a 6% commission? It is very clear that DANIEL LERNER'S intent was to sell this ER12 fund to my mother in law before the meeting in March 2019. He presented only one investment option, requested that my mother in law just sign the forms he handed her and did not verbalize the above risks. What was not known until weeks following the meeting was that he had predated the authorization forms that were signed by my mother in law. How do I know all of this? I was at the meeting. I have hesitated for quite some time now in commenting on this saga on social media and I have given DLA ample time to address our questions and concerns. They have chosen to ignore the issues raised, have accepted zero accountability and have expressed no desire to help my mother in law in any way. That has been the case with others who have commented on this website and lost considerably more money than my mother in law. DLA needs to be held accountable for their fraudulent and deceitful practices. I would encourage any individual who believes that they have been taken advantage of by DLA to contact FINRA. Any additional voices of discontent will only assist in their investigation. What I do know is DANIEL LERNER (IC) failed to present ALL of the facts to my mother in law and he totally mislead his boss regarding the discussions at the meeting. It is also clear that someone at DLA rewrote my mother in laws paperwork, changed my mother in law's answers and forged her signature. They cannot be trusted with your money. A "1 Star" rating far exceeds what they deserve. read more

Google for David Lerner Associates complaints or scandal. You can find more lawsuits or investigations against DL. This is one of the news I saw : "...FINRA arbitration offers investors a direct path to recover losses without court battles. This process works faster than traditional lawsuits and costs less for all parties involved. Investors file claims through FINRA's dispute resolution forum, where neutral arbitrators review evidence and make binding decisions. The entire process typically takes 12-16 months from filing to resolution, compared to years for civil litigation. For Energy 11 and Energy 12 investors, FINRA arbitration provides a practical option to seek compensation. Claims can be based on several grounds including unsuitable investment recommendations, misrepresentation of risks, or overconcentration in energy securities..." read more

Since switching to RBC , we are losing money in our account and we were never consulted about the switch. Our current agent has not contacted us in months to update us on our investments. We will be looking to go else where. Investors be Leary of this Association. read more

STAY AWAY!! They are a bunch of scam artists. You have better odds in Vegas. They lie and you WILL lose significant money. Daniel is a con man. If they invested in funeral homes noone would ever die. They should all be in prison!!! read more

David Lerner ais a thief. Karma will hit him. How can a fraudulent person like him still be in business? Stay away from any investment counselor with the last name of Lerner. His whole family is involved. read more

Google and see how many SEC violations. There are many companies with less or better yet no violations. Who should you trust?

Corrupt!!! I had to give a star to post but it is undeserved. False promises or more correctly outright lies read more

Thief's !!!!! Stay Away for your own good !!! They prey on older people !! you will loose all your money !!!

Please do not trust them. They sell what they make the most money on. Period. read more