Exclusive: Jury awards $8.1 million to investor who alleged BB&T misled him

By Suzanne Barlyn (Reuters) - A jury in a South Carolina state court on Monday awarded $8.1 million to a former adviser who sold his wealth management business to BB&T Corp and later alleged that the bank mismanaged his retirement nest egg with a risky strategy, according to a person familiar with the matter. The verdict, reached on Monday afternoon by a jury at the Court of Common Pleas for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Greenville, South Carolina, included $3.1 million in actual damages and $5 million in punitive damages, the person said. A spokesperson for BB&T Corp. and its lawyers could not be immediately reached for comment. A lawyer for the plaintiff, declined to comment. (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Chris Reese)