Why Work With a Broker Negligence Lawyer From Oakes & Fosher Law?
Our attorneys from Oakes & Fosher Law focus solely on helping clients navigate securities arbitration, litigating fraud and negligence cases. We know how brokers and brokerage firms should act. We have pursued cases against most brokerage firms currently operating in the United States.
Our arbitration lawyers know what to do when you cannot sue the broker or brokerage. This is common with securities fraud when your initial agreement with the company prohibits it. We represent clients in these cases and recover compensation for them through mediation or arbitration.
How Much Will It Cost to Hire a Broker Negligence Lawyer to Handle My Case?
At Oakes & Fosher Law, our broker negligence attorneys represent clients with no upfront fees. We never ask you to pay for our services while you are fighting to recover the money you lost.
Instead, we work based on contingency. We receive a portion of the money recovered after we close the case. If we do not recover money for you, you do not pay our attorney’s fees.
We can get started with a free consultation today. Contact us to let our lawyers assess your case and determine your next steps.
How Can Our Attorneys Determine If Someone Was a Victim of a Negligent Broker Or Brokerage Firm?
Broker negligence generally occurs when a broker fails to recommend “suitable” investments for the customer.
Determining suitable investments requires considering many factors:
- Age
- Employment status
- Financial situation and needs
- The customer’s directives
- Investment objectives
- Risk tolerance level
When you hire a stockbroker, they have a legal duty to you to make investment decisions that are appropriate based on these factors. If they fail to do so, it could be broker negligence.
Misconduct most commonly falls into one of two categories:
- Self-dealing, a type of conflict of interest
- Failure to make suitable investment decisions for a customer
However, brokers and brokerage firms are held to a complex list of rules, regulations, and standards. When it comes to buying and selling securities, there are many ways that abusive and unsuitable conduct could occur. Our clients often find that misconduct occurred in their brokerage account for years without their knowledge.
At Oakes & Fosher Law, our broker negligence attorneys know how to determine if your devastating losses occurred because of securities fraud, negligence, or misconduct. If you believe your stockbroker acted inappropriately, contact us for a free, confidential case evaluation.
Our Securities Arbitration Lawyers Know How to Fight Common Types Of Broker Negligence and Misconduct
Our Oakes & Fosher Law broker negligence attorneys can handle a securities arbitration case based on any type of inappropriate investment or fraud.
Some of the most common case types we see include:
In addition to these broker negligence cases, we often have customers call us about equity-indexed annuities. This type of annuity proves to be alluring to some investors because it is pitched as a way to see profits on their annuity without exposing their principal to risk. However, things are often too good to be true.
What Is an Equity-Indexed Annuity?
Annuities are commonly used in retirement plans. The investor pays scheduled premiums up until their retirement date. At retirement, they begin receiving scheduled distributions. In a fixed annuity, they receive regular payments that depend on the premiums they paid into the annuity, plus interest.
An equity-indexed annuity is not a fixed rate. Instead, the investor receives a variable rate.
Generally, the annuity pays a small fixed rate and the rest is linked to an equities index, such as the S&P 500. Their payment depends greatly on the performance of this index.
The Downside of Equity-Indexed Annuities
Many brokers promote equity-indexed annuities even when they do not meet the investor’s best interest. You cannot easily sell or exchange these investments without significant penalties. They are illiquid, even more so than fixed- and variable-rate annuities. Concerns include cancellation fees of up to 20 percent and long length of surrender periods.
However, these investments pay high commissions for securities brokers. Some brokers can receive up to 10 percent of the premiums paid when they recommend equity-indexed annuities. This could make it tempting to recommend them even when they are not appropriate for the investor.
If you have an annuity you believe your broker recommended for you though it is not a good fit for your needs, contact us. We will assess what happened and if you might have a broker negligence case.
Holding a negligent broker or brokerage firm accountable on your own would be difficult. Many of these cases require following specific protocols and processes to complete securities arbitration under rules set by The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).