FINRA recently reported its February 2011 arbitration statistics. For the two-month period ended February 28, 2011, 837 claims were filed. This represents a decrease of 9% as compared to the number of cases filed in February 2010 (918).


The number of securities arbitration cases that closed during the first two months of 2011 increased by 16% (957 compared to 828 as of February 28, 2010). However, the average turnaround time for cases that go to an arbitration hearing also increased to 14 months from 11.8 months (16%). Approximately 19% of closed arbitration cases were decided by arbitrators, while 81% were settled (through negotiation or mediation), withdrawn, or closed for other reasons.


The most frequent securities and investment related claims involved in arbitration continue to be breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation (fraud), negligence, breach of contract, and suitability. Mutual funds and common stock also remain the most common type of securities involved in arbitration claims.


Investors have also prevailed in a larger percentage of cases decided (by arbitration hearing or on papers submitted by the parties). For the two-month period ended February 28, 2011, 91 cases had been decided and investors prevailed in 46 (51%) of those cases. This is good news for investors as it shows a continued trend in securities arbitration awards being issued in favor of investors. It is also the first time in recent years where the percentage of arbitration claims resolved in favor of investors exceeds 50%. This percentage also does not include cases that settled in favor of the investor, which FINRA notes to be approximately 76% in 2010.


The Kueser Law Firm represents investors in securities arbitration. If you feel that your investments have been mismanaged, please contact a securities fraud attorney to discuss your rights. If you would like to contact The Kueser Law Firm, please visit e-mail or call the firm at (816) 374-5865 to discuss your rights.


This was originally posted on the Securities Arbitration Blawg.

How can investors review the background of a stockbroker or investment adviser?

Also available at KansasCityLaw.tv
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

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 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.

Updated February 1, 2011 at 6:45 PM (CST).

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 contract. Mutual funds and common stock also remain the most common type of securities involved in arbitration claims.

Investors have also prevailed in a larger percentage of cases decided (by hearing or on the papers). For the year, 669 cases had been decided and investors prevailed in 304 (45%) of those cases. This does not include cases that settled in favor of the investor, which FINRA notes to approximately 25%.

The Kueser Law Firm represents investors in securities arbitration. If you feel that your investments have been mismanaged, please contact our firm to discuss your rights.

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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 not be suitable for all investors and should be used only by knowledgeable investors who understand the potential consequences of seeking daily leveraged investment results. Shareholders should actively monitor their investments.

(See, e.g., prospectus at pp. 49, 54, 59, 64, 69, 74, 79.)

While additional disclosures are an improvement, this disclosure is still somewhat vague. It is similar to telling someone that an investment is suitable for them if they are seeking growth of their investment. Who isn’t seeking growth of their investments? I have never heard anyone say “I am looking for an investment that will cause me to lose money.”

In addition, many investors who are sold leveraged ETFs such as these never receive a copy of the prospectus. If an investor does not receive the prospectus, the disclosure does not protect them (however, it could protect the fund company from liability).

Leveraged ETFs invest their shareholders’ money in futures and/or derivatives in order to multiply the daily return of an index. Some leveraged ETFs seek a return that is 200% or even 300% of the daily performance of the index. Inverse ETFs work in much the same way, except that these funds seek a return that is equal to 100%, 200%, or even 300% of the opposite of the daily performance of the index. With these funds, an investor actually profits when the index declines in value. Typical leveraged ETFs and inverse ETFs reset each day and therefore, over periods longer than one day, their performance can vary considerably from the index. In addition to ProFunds, the most popular leveraged ETFs and inverse ETFs are managed by Rydex and Direxion.

FINRA has already declared that leveraged ETFs are typically unsuitable for retail investors. Therefore, the announcement by ProFunds is not a revelation. If your stockbroker or financial advisor has sold you any leveraged ETFs or inverse ETFs, or purchased any leveraged ETFs or inverse ETFs in your accounts, you may be entitled to recover any losses on these investments. The Kueser Law Firm represents investors who were sold leveraged ETFs and inverse ETFs. If you are concerned that your investments have been mismanaged, contact us to learn more about your rights.

This post is also available on our Investment Fraud Blawg, Securities Fraud Blawg, and Stockbroker Fraud Blawg.

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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 arbitration claims, including auction rate securities and other cash-equivalent funds. Some of these investments have also been the subject of regulatory investigations and settlements. The outcome of those pending investigations could impact the number of cases filed during the remainder of the year.

If you have concerns about the manner in which your investments have been managed, or if you are worried that an investment you own may not be what you thought you had invested your money in, you should contact an attorney to discuss your rights. The Kueser Law Firm represents individuals in securities arbitration. Feel free to contact us if you would like more information.

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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 objectives on a daily basis, rather than a long-term basis as with typical exchange-traded and mutual funds. In fact, the performance of these funds can vary significantly from their stated objectives over long-term periods. The joint warning contains a detailed description of leveraged and ETFs, as well as examples of how the funds generally operate. The SEC also included a link to a NYSE “Informed Investor” Bulletin entitled “What You Should Know About Exchanged Traded Funds.”

While this warning is welcome, it unfortunately has come after many investors have sustained significant losses in these risky and unsuitable investments. As previously discussed in this blawg, FINRA has already declared that leveraged ETFs are typically unsuitable for retail investors. The most popular of these investments are managed by Rydex, Direxion, and ProShares. If your stockbroker or financial advisor has sold you any leveraged ETFs, or purchased any leveraged ETFs in your accounts, and you have lost money on these investments, you may be entitled to recover these losses. The Kueser Law Firm represents investors who were sold leveraged and inverse ETFs. If you are concerned that your investments have been mismanaged, contact us to learn more about your rights.

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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 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.

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