When you find out that you have taken a loss on your investment and you believe that your stockbroker or brokerage firm has been reckless with your investment or otherwise engaging in misconduct, you can take action by heading to arbitration.
Investing always comes with a risk that you’ll lose money, but it shouldn’t happen so that your broker or financial planning institution can make a buck. In fact, the duty of fair dealing explicitly states that stockbrokers must always make recommendations and investments in the best interests of their clients. However, it is not uncommon for brokers to commit fraud in order to increase their own profits.
When this happens to you, you can reach out to a highly trained securities arbitration lawyer for assistance in building a case against your stockbroker, filing a complaint with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and ideally obtaining maximum repayment of your stock losses.
If you are interested in pursuing a FINRA arbitration claim, you need to make sure that you file your complaint before the statute of limitations runs out. This time limit typically expires six years from the day that you first learned of potential stockbroker negligence or your stock losses, or from the actual date that the broker engaged in misconduct or other fraudulent activities.
Although six years seems like plenty of time to get your claim filed, the defendant and their team of attorneys will more than likely attempt to utilize Rule 13206 time restrictions to their benefits, and having a seasoned securities arbitration lawyer is the best way to ensure that you meet the deadlines necessary for your arbitration claim to be a success.
After you have filed your arbitration claim through FINRA, you will be granted a hearing that you and your lawyer will have to attend in person. Your broker, their lawyer, and a panel of three arbitrators will also be in attendance.
This is where your attorney will have the opportunity to present the evidence they’ve gathered that demonstrates stockbroker misconduct. Conversely, the defense will then likely argue that the broker wasn’t committing fraud in any way. Fortunately, strong evidence will surely come down in your favor.
When both sides have had a chance to plead their case, the arbitrators will then review the evidence at hand and deliberate. If they find that misconduct did occur, they will then compel the defendant to compensate you accordingly.
You don’t have to sit back and accept your stock market losses when your stockbroker or brokerage firm has done something irresponsible or fraudulent with your investment.
Get in touch with an experienced securities arbitration lawyer at Meissner Associates as soon as possible so you can be one step closer to obtaining the compensation you deserve. You can schedule your free consultation today when you fill out the online contact form below or give our firm a call at 212-764-3100.