Harold “Trey” Fairman III, AIF, JD, LLM

Harold “Trey” Fairman III, AIF®, J.D., LL.M.

619-993-0013 mobile     www.treyfairman.com

Summary of Qualifications

 As a financial services professional since 1993, I have spent over thirty years offering financial guidance and strategic advisory services to individuals, businesses, and institutions. I stay well informed of industry trends, market developments, and regulatory changes to ensure I remain relevant and effective when partnering with fiduciaries, pension actuaries, investment advisors, insurance agents, attorneys, accountants, and trust officers, as well as the Wall Street firms, Private Banks, and Trust Companies that employ them.

As a court-qualified expert since 2011, I have authored numerous reports and rebuttals, opined on damage matters, consulted as an expert in Financial Industry Regulation Authority ("FINRA") arbitration hearings, and testified multiple times in federal and state court jury trials. I have opined on numerous occasions regarding the roles and responsibilities of financial advisors and industry standards of care. I have worked extensively with fiduciaries and am familiar with how those duties may or may not apply to advisors interacting with clients. Over the years, I have encountered illegal Ponzi schemes, deceitful insurance strategies, and fraudulent financial transactions. I studied illegal tax schemes in law school and have taken hours of continuing education to help identify and prevent fraudulent financial transactions plus I have analyzed dozens of financial industry litigation cases and studied hundreds of industry white papers deconstructing the tricks used by fraudsters to promote their illegal schemes. My experiences give me a solid foundation to see when a financial transaction is unorthodox and outside industry norms.

In addition to my expert consulting services, I am an active fiduciary advisor to corporate and small business 401(k) and 403(b) ERISA plans, providing comprehensive oversight and governance consulting. In this capacity, I focus on partnering with employers to help assess potential risks to their workplace retirement savings plan and implement strategies to mitigate those risks, including educating employees about financial concepts, investment strategies, and market trends.

I have extensive knowledge of products and planning services in the financial industry, from the most basic to the highly complex. My product experience includes most types of investment vehicles, annuities, disability income insurance, long-term-care insurance, and most varieties of life insurance, including term life, whole life, universal life (“UL”), indexed universal life (“IUL”), variable universal life (“VUL”), and private placement life insurance. My experience includes estate planning, irrevocable trusts, split-dollar life insurance, premium financing arrangements, life settlement transactions, charitable giving strategies, captive insurance entities, and stranger-originated life insurance ("STOLI").

I have earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Finance from the University of Delaware, a Juris Doctor degree, and a Master of Laws in Taxation degree, both from the University of San Diego School of Law. I have been awarded the Accredited Investment Fiduciary® designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies and am a licensed California attorney, but I do not practice law. I do, however, believe my legal training assists my expert analysis and consulting.

I am uniquely qualified in my financial services industry experience and look forward to discussing your matter.