Attorneys Helping Victims of Negligent and Fraudulent Miami Stockbrokers

Protecting victims of investment misconduct in Florida and throughout the country

There are many ways in which an investor might suffer financial losses. When brokers are negligent and fail to operate within the standards of their profession, you may be able to make a claim to recover those losses. At The Frankowski Firm, our goal is to protect the rights of individual and institutional investors as we hold negligent brokerage firms accountable for misconduct, malpractice, greed and fraud. Our Miami securities lawyers have earned a reputation for recovering significant awards for their aggrieved clients.

Examples of common investment issues

Certain products are riskier than others. Your broker or advisor should analyze and understand what level of risk you are willing and able to take, and based his or her recommendations on what is suitable for you. If your broker recommends securities which do not suit your goals, you could sustain significant losses.

Our skilled investment negligence attorneys have identified a number of products which can cause more harm than good to an investor’s portfolio. We are prepared to help Miami clients who have sustained financial harm because of products such as:

• Private placements. Also called non-public offerings, private placement is an offering of an unregistered security that is not available to the public. These investments tend to be quite risky, and are often best suitable for more sophisticated investors who thoroughly understand the risks. Non-traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) often fall into this category.
• Mutual funds. These funds are far less predictable than other products, and often come with higher firms and charges than you might originally anticipate.
• Variable annuities and contracts are another high-risk investment product that are unsuitable for average investors. FINRA advises that, “Sales pitches for these products might attempt to scare or confuse investors.”
• Closed-end funds (CEF) can carry some risks that the average investor may not have sufficient tolerance for. They may be more beneficial for the broker because they receive a commission every time a CEF is purchased or sold.
• Penny stocks. Because the value of these products – usually under $5.00 per share – is so low, it can be hard to value them adequately. They are generally not listed by NASDAQ or the NYSE, and brokers must take additional care when recommending them.

Your rights as an investor

As an investor, you have the right to talk to your brokerage firm and your broker and ask about their background and their experience working with investors in your position. Brokers are required to be transparent about the fees, charges, commissions, costs and penalties associated with an investment. A broker has a duty of good faith and fair dealing, and they have a duty of disclosure, which means that if they fail to disclose material facts about an investment regarding the risks involved, they have breached that duty. The broker’s supervisor is responsible to supervise their brokers because they can also be held liable when one of their brokers behaves negligently or fraudulently and causes a client to lose money.

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) has published an Investor’s Bill of Rights to which every investor is entitled.

The failure to fulfill their obligation to you as a customer that results in investment losses for you may represent a cause of action, which may cause you to pursue compensation through filing a claim against them.

How can I find out more about my Miami stockbroker or advisor’s background?

If you have questions about your investment advisor or broker-dealer, FINRA offers access to its Broker Check services. You will find information about your investment advisor’s firm through the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Investment Advisor Public Disclosure (IAPD). If you are working with an individual investment advisor, you can look them up on the Florida Office of Financial Regulation’s Division of Securities website.

Contact a skilled investment negligence attorney today

When you have suffered investment losses and you are seeking a legal remedy, The Frankowski Firm will fight to hold brokerage firms and investment advisors in Miami accountable for their negligence or fraud. To schedule an appointment in the Miami area, contact us at 888-741-7503 or complete our contact form.

Types of Cases We Handle

Our attorneys handle a variety of cases, including:

• Investment Negligence
• FINRA Arbitration Attorneys
• Securities Fraud