Broker or advisor lose your money? Excessive fees? Know your legal rights.
Recover Your Investment Losses
While arbitration can provide a more efficient and economical way of resolving a dispute, it can also put investors at a disadvantage against savvy investment firms that are experiences in the FINRA arbitration process.
Over the years, our investment fraud attorneys have developed the skills and experience necessary to provide investors with the high quality of representation investment brokerages bring when entering into arbitration proceedings.
The following are examples of broker misconduct that may provide investors grounds for filing a FINRA arbitration claim.
Failing to Exercise Good Judgment
Overconcentration/ Failure to Diversify brokers concentrating the majority of an investor’s portfolio in one type of investment
Broker Negligence brokers fail to meet the legal standard of diligence required to protect clients’ investments
Unsuitable Investments or Recommendations brokers recommend investments that are inappropriate for the investor’s circumstances and desired levels of risk and return
Acting Without Investor Permission
Unauthorized Trading brokers buying or selling securities on behalf of a customer without their prior knowledge or consent
Failure to Execute or Follow Instructions brokers failing to promptly follow an investor’s explicit directives to buy or sell securities
Violating Internal & External Financial Industry Regulations
Lack of Supervision brokerage fails to properly monitor brokers and ensure their activities are in compliance with federal securities laws and regulations
Broker/ Brokerage Registration brokers or brokerages selling securities in states in which they’re not registered to do so
Outside & Private Investments/ Selling Away brokers selling clients private investments that are not traded on public exchanges and that not approved by the brokerage, often for a large commission or kickback
Fraudulent Asset Transfers brokerages liquidating and transferring assets from one company to another to cover existing liabilities
Putting Broker or Firm Profits Before Investor Gain
Churning/ Excessive Trading brokers engaging in a high volume of trades in order to generate broker commissions
Mutual Fund Abuse brokers churning or switching mutual funds or recommending the improper class of mutual fund shares in order to generate broker commissions and fees
Front-Running brokers taking advantage of an investor’s knowledge by executing a requested transaction on behalf of the brokerage before executing it for the investor
Breakpoint Selling brokers recommending mutual fund investments below the breakpoint at which their commission would decrease
Ponzi/ Pyramid Schemes brokers or brokerages using investor fund to purchase other investments for the benefit of the brokers or brokerages, and not the investor
Engaging in Dubious or Dishonest Business Practices
Conversions Fraud/ Civil Theft brokers taking or borrowing the client’s money without investing it on their behalf or paying it back
Forgery brokers falsifying investment documents and account statements
Material Misrepresentations or Omissions brokers misrepresenting or failing to disclose pertinent information about a recommended investment, particularly information about risks associated with the investment
Cold-Calling/ High-Pressure Sales persistent brokers pressure investors to buy securities as soon as possible, often via unsolicited phone calls
What is FINRA?
FINRA regulates the financial industry by focusing on the following activities:
Deterring misconduct by enforcing the rules
Disciplining those who break the rules
Deterring and preventing wrongdoing in the U.S. markets
Educating investors
Resolving securities disputes
Resolving securities disputes is one of the most critical roles for FINRA, because in the financial services industry, many investment and brokerage agreements contractually require disputes to be resolved through FINRA arbitration. FINRA administers the largest securities dispute resolution foru, in the U.S. and sets guidelines, procedures, rules, and requirements for arbitration between disputing parties.
Securities arbitration lawyers play an important role in ensuring investors are given a fair chance in FINRA arbitration proceedings.
Our Financial Fraud Experience
Girard Gibbs’ financial fraud and securities lawyers have more than two decades of experience prosecuting fraud. Our attorneys have successfully litigated against some of the largest companies in the United States, and we have recovered more than a billion dollars on our clients’ behalf.
We have fought some of the most complex cases brought under federal and state laws nationwide, and our attorneys have been recognized with numerous awards and honors for their accomplishments, including Top 100 Super Lawyers in Northern California, Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California, The Best Lawyers in America, and rated AV Preeminent (among the highest class of attorneys for professional ethics and legal skills).
