Summary of Securities Arbitration Statistics as reported by FINRA for the two-month period ended February 2011.

In this video, Jason M. Kueser discusses how investors can research the background of stockbrokers and/or financial advisors.

Also available at KansasCityLaw.tv
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.

Also available at KansasCityLaw.tv
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.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (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resolved by direct settlement between the parties, 10% were resolved through mediation, and 16% of cases were either withdrawn or resolved through “other” method.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 …

From SecuritiesArbitrationBlawg.com:
FINRA recently reported its December 2009 arbitration statistics. For the year ended December 31, 2009, 7,137 claims had been filed. This represents an increase of 43% as compared to the number of cases filed in 2008 (4,982). The average turnaround time for cases that go to an arbitration hearing has declined by 11% (14 months from 15.7 months).
The most frequent securities and investment claims/controversies involved in arbitration continue to be breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation/fraud, negligence, and breach of …

ProFunds Group, one of the largest issuers of leveraged and inverse ETFs recently issued a warning that some of its leveraged and inverse ETFs may not be suitable for all investors. In the prospectus dated October 1, 2009, the company repeatedly states:
The Fund is different from most exchangetraded funds in that it seeks leveraged returns and only on a daily basis. The Fund also is riskier than similarly benchmarked exchange-traded funds that do not use leverage. Accordingly, the Fund may …

From SecuritiesArbitrationBlawg.com:
Helen Kearney, of bankinvestmentconsultant.com recently reported that as of August 2009, more arbitration claims had been filed than in all of 2009. Although there was a slight downturn in the number of claims filed in August, it is unclear whether this trend will continue.
In large part, the number of claims will likely depend on what happens in the markets over the next few months. In addition, there are different types of investments that have been the subject of significant …

From Investment Fraud Blawg, Securities Fraud Blawg, and Stockbroker Fraud Blawg:
Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a joint warning cautioning investors on the dangers in investing in leveraged ETFs and inverse ETFs. The two regulators issued the warning because they “believe individual investors may be confused about the performance objectives of leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs).”
The warning also notes that leveraged ETFs are designed to achieve their investment performance …

From Investment Fraud Blawg, Securities Fraud Blawg, and Stockbroker Fraud Blawg:
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 …