How can investors review the background of a stockbroker or investment adviser?
Also available at KansasCityLaw.tv and The Kueser Law Firm’s website. In this video, Jason M. Kueser discusses how investors can research the background of stockbrokers, financial advisors, and Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs). Background information related to stockbrokers and financial advisors can be obtained using FINRA’s BrokerCheck tool. Background and other information related to Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) can be found on the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website. In addition to these sites, there are various third-party sites/services that provide information related to stockbrokers, financial advisors, and investment advisers.
This video is provided for informational purposes only and nothing contained herein is or should be constituted as legal advice. If you have questions related to any legal topic, you should consult with an attorney and should not rely solely upon information provided via the internet. The choice of an attorney is an important one and should not be based solely upon advertisements such as this website. Past results afford no guarantee of future results. Every case is different and must be judged on its own merits. *Any information submitted via this website may not be secure and/or confidential. Merely contacting this firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship.
Also available at KansasCityLaw.tv In this video, Jason M. Kueser discusses typical causes of action in securities cases. These typical actions are: (1) fraud, (2) securities fraud, (3) breach of fiduciary duty, (4) breach of contract, (5) violation of state securities laws, (6) violation of federal securities laws, and (7) negligence.
This video is provided for informational purposes only and nothing contained herein is or should be constituted as legal advice. If you have questions related to any legal topic, you should consult with an attorney and should not rely solely upon information provided via the internet. The choice of an attorney is an important one and should not be based solely upon advertisements such as this website. Past results afford no guarantee of future results. Every case is different and must be judged on its own merits. *Any information submitted via this website may not be secure and/or confidential. Merely contacting this firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship.
This video is provided for informational purposes only and nothing contained herein is or should be constituted as legal advice. If you have questions related to any legal topic, you should consult with an attorney and should not rely solely upon information provided via the internet. All content provided on this blog are subject to the Disclaimer at the bottom of the page.
FINRA recently released its arbitration statistics for the month/year ended December 2010.
For the year, there were 20% fewer cases filed (5,680 v. 7,137 in 2009) and there were 6,241 cases closed (a 37% increase over 2009). Of these cases, 22% were resolved by arbitration hearing, 52% were resolved by direct settlement between the parties, 10% were resolved through mediation, and 16% of cases were either withdrawn or resolved through “other” method.
Results for investors also improved in 2010, as 47% cases that were decided by an arbitration panel resulted in an award of damages to the customer. This reflects a 2% increase over the results in 2009, and a 10% increase compared to arbitration claims decided by arbitration panels in 2007 — the worst year, for investors, in arbitration claims over the past six years.
The overall turnaround time for cases closed during the year also increased to 12.7 months (from 11.5 months in 2009). For cases that are resolved after an arbitration hearing, the turnaround time increased to 15 months (from 14 months in 2009).
The most common claims in arbitration were: (1) Breach of Fiduciary Duty; (2) Negligence; (3) Fraud/Misrepresentation; (4) Failure to Supervise; and, (5) Breach of Contract. The most common type of securities involved in arbitration claims were mutual funds and common stocks.
The Kueser Law Firm represents investors in securities arbitration. If you feel that your investments have been mismanaged, please contact the firm to discuss your rights.
According to a recent article on InvestmentNews.com, a study commissioned by Charles Schwab revealed that a significant percentage of investors are unaware of the losses sustained in their accounts. To make matters worse, more than one-third of the investors surveyed did not know which mutual funds they owned and less than one-third spoke with their financial advisor or stockbroker on a regular basis.
In the article, a Charles Schwab executive was quoted as stating that “some investors tend to be overwhelmed or intimidated by investing.” This is interesting because it confirms the important role that stockbrokers and financial advisors play in investors’ financial decisions. While this seems elementary, it astonishes me as to how many broker-dealers take the position in arbitration cases that the stockbroker or financial adviser played a passive role in the losses sustained in the investor’s accounts.
The survey also reported that 60% of the investors surveyed do not plan to make any changes to their investment allocations following the stock market’s rapid post-September descent. Stockbrokers and financial advisers often tell their clients to “stay the course.” In addition (or alternatively), many advisers and stockbrokers will show their clients charts or other documents that show how following a decline in the stock market a large portion of the recovery often occurs on select days — thus reinforcing their recommendation to stay the course, otherwise taking the risk that the investor will miss those few opportunities to participate in the recovery. Following this recommendation, clients feel forced to hold the same investments that created their losses.
It is important not to ignore losses in your investment accounts for many reasons, including but not limited to the following:
1. It is more difficult to recover from a significant loss than it is to sustain the loss in the first place. For example, if you start with $100,000 in an investment account and you sustain losses of 50%, the value of your account would be $50,000. Therefore, you would need a gain of 100% of this reduced amount ($50,000) in order to recover from the 50% loss you sustained.
2. If you are sustaining losses that cause you to lose sleep (or suffer other emotional distress), your investment accounts are probably invested in an unsuitable manner. This is something that you need to discuss with your stockbroker or financial adviser. If your adviser is unwilling to make significant changes to the accounts, or worse yet, if the stockbroker tries to reassure you that the investments are appropriate, you should seek a second opinion. In addition, you may want to consult with a securities attorney to discuss whether you have a legal claim.
3. If you decide to file a claim related to your losses, any failure to act could reduce or diminish your ability to succeed in arbitration or litigation. Whenever legal action is initiated, there are several issues related to the timing of the investor’s actions and the claim itself that must be considered (including statutes of limiations, equitable defenses, and arbitration eligibility rules).
When a stockbroker or financial adviser makes a recommendation to his or her client, they (and the firms they represent) may be liable for losses resulting from the recommendation. The Kueser Law Firm represents investors in securities arbitration. If you are concerned that your investments have been mismanaged, contact us to learn more about your rights.
Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that while the four major Wall Street brokerage firms experienced an outflow of $8 billion of assets in 2008, Registered Investment Advisers brought in more than $108 billion in new assets during the same period. This activity likely reflects a shift in investor preference from transaction-based broker relationships to fiduciary relationships.
Investors generally choose to have their financial affairs handled by someone they feel they can trust. Given the financial meltdown that has taken place over the last 2+ years, it is easy to see why investors would prefer to have a fiduciary manage their investments rather than a brokerage firm that has unavoidable conflicts of interest with their clients.
If you are considering hiring an investment adviser, another Wall Street Journal article also set out some questions that investors should ask financial advisers. Every adviser-client relationship is based upon different goals, and, as a result, each investor should ask different questions when interviewing a financial adviser. However, if you are looking for a list of standard questions, this is a good place to start.
It is important to know as much as you can about your financial adviser, stockbroker, etc. You can also find information about stockbrokers by checking FINRA’s BrokerCheck website and research registered investment advisers through the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) website.
The Kueser Law Firm represents investors in securities arbitration and litigation. If you are concerned that your investments have been mismanaged, please contact us to learn more about your rights.
It seems that each day there is another story about allegations that an investment adviser has stolen money from their clients. Yesterday, the SEC filed a complaint alleging that a New York investment adviser had bilked his clients, many of whom were terminally ill or mentally impaired, out of $6 million.
Where do you turn? The New York Times published an interesting article on June 5, 2009, discussing this issue. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has a publicly available repository of information related to securities professionals (BrokerCheck) and the SEC maintains the IAPD, which is a database containing information related to investment advisers. While these are valuable sources in checking the background of investment professionals, they are often inadequate. The New York Times also published an article about financial planners in their “need to know” series that is worth reading.
Unfortunately, investors do not learn that their adviser has taken advantage of them until after they have suffered devastating financial losses. The Kueser Law Firm represents investors that have been the victims of securities fraud, investment fraud, as well as other forms of stockbroker and financial adviser misconduct. In addition, the firm represents consumers that have been defrauded. If you would like to contact the firm for a free consultation, please call 816.374.5865 or visit our website, www.jmkesquire.com, for more information.
On June 10, 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Matthew Weitzman, a New York investment adviser, with defrauding his clients out of $6 million. According to the SEC’s Litigation Release (No. 21078), some of these clients were terminally ill or mentally impaired.
The SEC filed its complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Litigation Release also states that:
The SEC alleges that Matthew D. Weitzman sold securities in clients’ brokerage accounts and illegally funneled their money to a bank account that he secretly controlled. While Weitzman spent the money on a multi-million dollar home, cars, and other luxury items, he provided false account statements to clients often showing inflated account balances and securities holdings. Weitzman also submitted to a broker-dealer phony letters from clients that purported to authorize the money transfers. When clients questioned Weitzman about the transfers they did not authorize, he misrepresented that he was withdrawing their funds to make legitimate investments.
Mr. Weitzman is the co-founder and a principal of AFW Wealth Advisors, which is an alternative name for AFW Asset Management, Inc., a registered investment advisor located in Puchase, New York. According to the SEC’s release, Mr. Weitzman was also the Compliance Officer for AFW.
This is another example in a long line of instances just this year where an investment adviser has been alleged to have abused the trust and confidence placed in them by their clients. Fortunately, securities regulators are taking a more active role in finding, investigating, and, where appropriate, prosecuting offenders. Unfortunately, clients are suffering millions, if not billions of dollars in losses.
The choice of an attorney is an important one and should not be based solely upon advertisements such as this website. Past results afford no guarantee of future results. Every case is different and must be judged on its own merits.
*Any information submitted via this website may not be secure and/or confidential. Merely contacting this firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship.
"The goal of civil litigation is to seek culpable pockets and recover from those pockets," said Frenkel, a partner at Shulman Rogers in Potomac, Md., and a former enforcement lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cleveland securities lawyer ...See all stories on this topic »Plain Dealer […]
Student Loan Corp. in September 2010 told the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a public filing that it was taking a $900 million charge, just days after it announced was being sold, according to the complaint. The lender became a wholly-owned ...See all stories on this topic » […]
Morrison held that Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 did not provide a private cause of action in “foreign-cubed” cases—cases where foreign plaintiffs sue foreign defendants for misconduct in connection with securities traded on ...See all stories on this topic » […]
27, 2012, in Washington, regarding a fraud unit that will investigate residential mortgage-backed securities. By Mark Wilson, Getty Images New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman speaks at a Justice Department news conference on Jan.See all stories on this topic »USA TODAY […]
Investors allege securities fraud, while futures customers file claims under commodity and US racketeering law, they said. Exchange CME Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., banker to MF Global, are named in futures customer suits, they said.See all stories on this topic » […]
By granting exemptions to laws and regulations that act as a deterrent to securities fraud, the SEC has let financial giants like JPMorganChase, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America continue to have advantages reserved for the most dependable companies, ...See all stories on this topic »New York Times […]
The Securities and Exchange Commision accused four former Credit Suisse employees of civil fraud. Three were named in related criminal charges, and two pleaded guilty to those. The most senior of the defendants has not settled with the government.See all stories on this topic » […]
M. Davis, center, and his attorney David Finn are surrounded by media as they leave the federal courthouse after pleading guilty to three counts: conspiracy to commit mail, wire and securities fraud; mail fraud and conspiracy to obstruct a Securities ...See all stories on this topic » […]
Motorola Solutions Inc. will pay $200 million to settle a 2007 securities fraud lawsuit brought by shareholders. Attorneys representing the shareholders disclosed the proposed settlement Thursday evening, which was also filed with a federal court in ...See all stories on this topic »Chicago Tribune […]
Motorola Solutions Inc. has settled a 2007 securities fraud lawsuit brought by shareholders for $200 million. More details to come.See all stories on this topic » […]
Therefore, it is important to know how to spot a potential investment scam. Cold-Calling: How To Spot an Investment Fraud By: Debra Speyer www.wallstreetfraudblog.com While the National Do Not Call Registry has certainly reduced the number of sales ...See all stories on this topic » […]
Christian Baker, 36, was sentenced in US District Court in Missoula Friday after pleading guilty last August to wire fraud/investment fraud. According to federal agents, Baker had been in the “business” of raising capital for investment ventures for a ...See all stories on this topic » […]
The Security and Exchange Commission issued an investor alert on Jan. 4, cautioning investors to be better aware of fraudulent investments schemes that may involve social media. While social media outlets such as Facebook, You Tube, Twitter, ...See all stories on this topic » […]
Baker previously pleaded guilty to fraud. Prosecutors say he received about $3 million from a variety of investors, with about one-third being returned to them, one-third being invested and the other third converted to his own use.See all stories on this topic » […]
The ringleader of a $2.2 million mortgage fraud ring was sentenced this week to six years in prison and ordered to repay nearly $1 million to two companies. Michael Hudalla, 45, of Mendota Heights, who pleaded guilty to two counts of racketeering, ...See all stories on this topic » […]
In an investigation by The New York Times, reporters discovered that the SEC is regularly declaring that the strictest penalties for fraud, penalties it regularly imposes on other businesses, often should not be imposed on Wall Street investment banks.See all stories on this topic » […]
By Terri Langford Millions of investor dollars flowed from a Caribbean bank to a Swiss account controlled by R. Allen Stanford, and from there to his numerous businesses in the US and elsewhere, a key witness testified Friday in Stanford's fraud trial.See all stories on this topic » […]
3 (Bloomberg) -- Kareem Serageldin, the ex-global head of Credit Suisse Group AG's CDO business charged in a bonus- boosting fraud tied to a $5.35 billion trading book, was surprised by the US indictment since he has been cooperating with investigators ...See all stories on this topic » […]
By JANE SIMS, The London Free Press The bogus promises have been heard in other court cases -- high yield returns on off-shore investments. The $7-million fraud conned about 70 people a decade ago. And the scheme, Superior Court Justice Alan Whitten ...See all stories on this topic » […]
3 (Bloomberg) -- Ex-Stanford Financial Group Co. finance chief James Davis told jurors that he and R. Allen Stanford, the company founder, conspired in an investment fraud. Davis, 63, pleaded guilty to three felony charges in August 2009 and agreed to ...See all stories on this topic » […]
