FINRA arbitration can help investors recover losses, but results depend on preparation and strategy. Our attorneys conduct a detailed case review, draft a fact-rich Statement of Claim, and manage arbitrator selection, discovery, mediation, and hearing presentation. We focus on evidence, deadlines, and damages analysis so clients know what to expect from start to award today.
Continue ReadingHedge funds are private investment vehicles that pool investor capital and use flexible strategies like leverage and short-selling to seek positive returns while avoiding many mutual fund regulations, but they carry higher risk and limited liquidity, and investors should understand fees and valuation practices before committing capital to these complex funds.
Continue ReadingThe SEC moved to halt an alleged EquiAlt Ponzi scheme tied to four real estate investment funds, freezing assets and appointing a receiver. Investors’ recovery often turns on how the investment was sold—misrepresentations, failed due diligence, unsuitable recommendations, or selling away. Our firm evaluates claims and pursues FINRA arbitration or coordinated litigation for harmed investors.
Continue ReadingInvestors in UBS ETRAC Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) often suffered forced liquidations at prices set by UBS, resulting in significant losses when markets fell. These complex, leveraged ETNs were marketed as income-producing but carried high risk and credit exposure. At our firm, we represent investors in arbitration claims for misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, and unsuitable recommendations.
Continue ReadingExchange-traded funds (ETFs) are investment companies whose shares trade on an exchange and can offer liquidity, low cost, and tax-efficient diversification. However, complex products like leveraged, inverse, and niche ETFs carry heightened risk. Investors should read prospectuses and consult professionals to understand objectives, strategies, costs, and risk tolerance before investing.
Continue ReadingNote-linked structured products are notes tied to a security, index, commodity, debt obligation, or currency, often combining a bond-like payment stream with a derivative that sets maturity value. Some promise principal protection, others do not, and liquidity can be thin. FINRA warns marketing must be balanced, conflicts disclosed, and suitability and supervision procedures enforced properly.
Continue ReadingMany GPB Capital investors bought illiquid limited-partnership interests sold as income-producing private placements, only to see distributions stop and valuations go dark. Our firm sees losses compounded by 8–10% commissions and misleading reassurance to “wait.” The recovery path is acting quickly—gather documents and pursue claims typically through FINRA arbitration, before eligibility and limitation deadlines expire.
Continue ReadingA FINRA arbitration panel found Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. and Citigroup Alternative Investments, LLC liable, jointly and severally, for negligent management and negligent supervision. The panel awarded compensatory damages of $908,648.00 to the Gerald J. Kazma Revocable Trust and $908,648.00 to Amzak Capital Management, LLC, while denying pre-judgment interest and punitive damages in this dispute.
Continue ReadingFINRA fined UBS $2.5 million and ordered $8.25 million in restitution after finding false, misleading “principal protection” claims about Lehman Brothers 100% Principal-Protection Notes. UBS advisors often misunderstood the products, which were unsecured Lehman debts and only “protected” if Lehman paid at maturity. Investors may pursue FINRA arbitration for recovery when practices violated suitability rules.
Continue ReadingStructured notes and other structured products are complex, unsecured obligations whose payoff depends on an underlying asset and derivatives. Key risks include issuer credit risk, limited liquidity, difficult pricing, uncertain income, caps and barriers, volatility exposure, fees, and adverse tax treatment as contingent payment debt instruments. Principal protection can still fail if the issuer weakens.
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