Brokerage Customer / FINRA Arbitrations

如果你因你的投资顾问或股票经纪人的不当行为、欺诈或疏忽而遭受投资损失，你可能有权提出法律索赔，以收回部分或全部损失。马克-A-斯特劳斯律师事务所在证券诉讼方面有丰富的经验，包括在金融业监管局（FINRA）的仲裁中代表投资者和其他股票经纪人客户，该局是监督和管理股票经纪人-交易商及其注册代表的自我监管组织。

美国金融监管局的仲裁

投资账户协议一般要求客户与股票经纪公司或其代表之间的任何争议通过美国金融业监管局的仲裁来解决。即使协议不包含争议前的仲裁条款，根据美国金融业监管局的规则，客户也有权要求仲裁。

投资者在美国金融监管局的仲裁中的索赔通常分为几大类：

• Unsuitability. Stockbrokers and investment advisors have a duty to recommend investments that are suitable given the client’s age, investment goals, risk tolerance, liquidity needs, tax status, and other factors. Violations of this duty frequently form the basis for FINRA arbitration claims. For instance, if your stockbroker recommended investments that are excessively volatile, keeping you awake at night, or if you discovered only after the purchase that a recommended investment is difficult to sell, making it impossible to access your money, you may have a suitability claim.
• Overconcentration/Inadequate Diversification. Investment portfolios are supposed to be diversified – that is, allocated among a wide variety of different investments to reduce exposure to any single asset class, category, or investment risk. Overconcentration is the opposite – putting an excessive portion of your account into a single investment, type of investment, or in investments that are so similar that their performance is correlated. Overconcentrated portfolios are prone to sudden, significant losses in response to market and economic events. If you believe that you suffered a loss due to overconcentration, it is important to confer with an experienced FINRA arbitration attorney like Mark A. Strauss to evaluate whether you may have a claim.
• Unauthorized Trading. Investors can sign documents giving their stockbrokers “discretionary trading authority” – meaning that the stockbroker has power to buy or sell securities on client’s behalf without his or her consent. Without such a signed document, however, the stockbroker has an obligation to obtain the client’s approval before executing any trades. Trades in violation of this requirement are infrequent but when they occur and result in losses can often be the basis for a FINRA arbitration claim.
• Churning. Stockbrokers frequently earn commissions or other fees on each trade they effectuate on behalf of their clients. Churning is an illegal practice that occurs when a stockbroker or investment advisor engages in trading in a customer’s account to generate commissions without regard to the client’s investment goals. Red flags of churning include unauthorized trades, frequent in-and-out purchases and sales, and excessive fees.
• Misstatements/Omissions or the Failure to Fully Explain Risks. Most stockbrokerage accounts are non-discretionary, meaning that the customer’s prior approval is required for all transactions and strategies executed in the account. In obtaining that approval, stockbrokers and investment advisors owe a duty to be truthful – specifically, they have an obligation to disclose material facts relevant to your investment decision. This includes identifying and explaining the risk factors posed by the investment or strategy in question. Truthful and complete disclosure is particularly critical when sophisticated and complex financial products such as leveraged or inverse exchange traded securities (ETFs and ETNs) or structured products are involved.

If you believe that investment losses you suffered are a result of misconduct by your stockbroker or investment advisor, you need an experienced attorney to help evaluate whether you may have a viable claim and to explore your options. Contact securities fraud and litigation attorney Mark A. Strauss for a free and confidential consultation.