Alas, the market crashes (nearly, 8% of its value today) and your 401k plan is devastated, but could it get worse? Of course, it could. Brokers and investment advisers as well as their employers should expect to see numerous arbitrations and lawsuits as a result of the market crash and volatility.
As a result, brokers
Ernie Badway was quoted in FundFire regarding a recent lawsuit brought against the SEC concerning a FOIA request. https://www.fundfire.com/c/2532863/301753. The FOIA request had sought emails from the former SEC Enforcement Director and his correspondence with various news organizations.
In the hectic world of financial services, registered representatives and investment adviser representatives are always looking to increase their assets under management. At what cost? Are there situations where you would be better off just saying no to accepting that one additional client?
In my many years of defending representatives and advisers from customer complaints,
Every time that I start a FINRA arbitration, I find myself having the same internal debate; did we pick the right person to serve as the arbitration chair. Unfortunately, you will not know the answer to that question until after your arbitration begins, or, more likely, after the award is issued. FINRA has proposed a
Over the years that I have defended broker-dealers and investment advisors on customer-initiated claims, I have seen many things that would make any compliance officer cringe. One spine tingling (not in the good way) type of conduct is when an advisor engages his/her client when the client makes an informal complaint, instead of routing the
When faced with a customer complaining through a letter or email, it is human nature to try to appease the customer with a conciliatory response or no response at all. I have seen this “human nature” all too often when defending brokers and advisor from customer complaints.
In almost all instances, the complaining customer now
Anyone in a professional service business, like being a stock broker, have been faced with a client who decides to make a stupid decision. But the issue we all face is when that decision results in the client losing money; who is to be held accountable.
Fortunately, the law does not require you to stop
It was great speaking at the May 17 New York NSCP regional conference on risk issues facing firms where Ernie Badway and I discussed cyber-security, risk issues, regulatory matters, issues involving elder clients and ways compliance personnel can protect themselves. For those of you who could not make the conference, these topics are frequently discussed
Unlike lawyers, especially litigators, the business model of a financial advisor is not dependent upon clients being stupid. Instead, financial advisors depend on their clients making smart decisions after full disclosure and consideration after speaking with their financial advisor. So what do you do when clients make stupid decisions?
In defending brokers over the years,
With the exception of those of you who have literally been asleep for the last few years, you are well-versed in the attention FINRA and the SEC are giving to issues surrounding elder investors. Among other things, there is a real focus on elder abuse.
Some commentators believe that all of this attention may inevitably