Investor Rights
Mattson Ricketts has unique experience in representing investors in Nebraska and other states who have entrusted their life savings and retirement accounts to a financial adviser or broker only to become a victim. Our clients believed that their investments were being handled responsibly and in accordance with their wishes, but later found out that some or all of their money had been lost through unsuitable or inappropriate investments, overtrading (known as “churning”), and even unauthorized trades without the account owner’s consent.
Many investors lose a substantial amount of their savings before they discover the problem, placing their lifestyle or retirement at risk. Most don’t know that they have grounds to attempt to recover their losses, but Mattson Ricketts attorneys are experienced in this niche area of the law and can help guide you through this process.
Broker Misconduct
Many brokers (also known as financial advisers, investment advisers, stockbrokers, or registered representatives) advise their clients appropriately and treat them fairly. Unfortunately, however, not all do, and those few can cause extensive financial damage and emotional pain.
In many instances, brokers ignore their customer’s wishes and best interests in favor of generating huge commissions for themselves. They may do this by recommending and selling unsuitable investments, executing trades too frequently and sometimes at inappropriate times (known as churning), over-concentrating a customer’s assets in a single or small group of investments rather than diversifying the customer’s holdings, and other strategies designed to distract customers from the truth. In some cases, brokers engage in outright fraud by having customers sign blank documents, making investments without the customer’s consent, or misrepresenting or omitting important facts about the investments they sell, such as the risks associated with a particular investment.
FINRA Arbitrations
Many of our clients are surprised to learn that they have signed away their rights to challenge most aspects of their investments or retirement accounts in court. Rather, in order to open an account at one of the nation’s 5,400-plus broker-dealers, each customer must sign an account agreement requiring them to submit to arbitration administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Many aspects of FINRA arbitration differ from typical court procedures, including limited discovery (the pretrial sharing of information between parties) and decisions made by arbitrators who may be financial industry insiders (which FINRA calls non-public arbitrators).
Mattson Ricketts attorneys are experienced with the FINRA arbitration system and can steer your case through the process.
Securities Fraud
As the recent economic crisis has revealed, the nation’s financial system has become impossibly complicated, and, unfortunately, various forms of securities fraud are prevalent at all levels of the industry. Millions of Americans are invested in securities they don’t and perhaps shouldn’t be expected to understand. Moreover, many investments are sold under false and fraudulent circumstances.
If you are invested in a stock, bond, or other security that you believe you shouldn’t have been sold, Mattson Ricketts attorneys can help you seek compensation from the various parties involved.