Investing your money is one of the best ways you can go about ensuring the long-term financial well-being of yourself and your family. Unfortunately, investing your money with a financial firm also opens you up to potential investment fraud. If you lost money due to investment misconduct, an experienced Worcester investment fraud lawyer may be able to help.
Our Massachusetts investment fraud lawyers at Meyer Wilson have helped countless fraud victims pursue compensation after losing money due to misconduct. Our team of experienced investment fraud lawyers serving Worcester will do everything possible to ensure you recover the money you need. Give us a call or complete our contact form to set up your free, no-obligation case review today.
Investment Fraud Can Take Many Different Forms
Since founding our investment fraud law firm over 25 years ago, we have seen all sorts of different investment fraud schemes. Our experience handling this variety of cases has prepared us to represent victims who have been cheated out of their investment, no matter the manner of misconduct. Our investment fraud team in Worcester is comprised of:
- Unauthorized trading lawyers
- Broker negligence lawyers
- Asset allocation misconduct lawyers
- Failure to supervise lawyers
- Breach of fiduciary duty lawyers
Unauthorized Trading
Financial advisors must obtain authorization from their clients before making any trades with their investments. There are two primary ways by which trade authorization is granted.
When an advisor finds an investment opportunity they think would be right for their client, they can approach them directly to authorize the trade. With this method, each trade the broker makes must be authorized on a case-by-case basis.
Alternatively, when an investor signs an investment agreement with a brokerage firm, they can authorize their financial advisor to make trades with their money as long as they meet the criteria laid out in the paperwork.
Broker Negligence
Investment brokers are legally obligated to take every action possible to ensure that the way they are investing the money of their clients makes sense and is likely to yield positive returns. If your broker behaves in a negligent manner and you lose money as a result, a securities fraud lawyer can help you file a lawsuit to recover damages.
Asset Allocation Misconduct
When investing the money of a client, a financial advisor needs to carefully consider how to distribute the investment among different asset classes. To ensure the best distribution of funds, they must consider how much risk the client can safely take on based on their age and other factors. The types of assets into which they can invest a client’s money include:
- Cash
- Stocks
- Bonds
- Foreign currency
- Real estate
- Natural resources
While a variety of factors can affect an investor’s risk tolerance level, the main consideration is usually age. In most cases, your tolerance for risk drops as you get older. You can no longer afford to wait out any down periods you may face in anticipation of a rebound in the market. Instead, older investors need stability, which comes with a diversified portfolio.
Alternatively, certain younger investors may be able to afford to ride the wave of the market. For these investors, it might be best to group their investment among a small number of asset classes with greater growth potential. While they may see losses at times, their long-term gains will likely be greater.
If your investment advisor does not divide your money among asset types in a manner that matches your risk profile, you can hold them financially accountable for any losses you incur.
Failure to Supervise
Brokerage firms are legally obligated to take all reasonable steps to ensure that their employees are abiding by all financial laws and regulations. Because of this, if you suffered losses caused by investment fraud committed by your financial advisor, you may be able to pursue compensation from the brokerage firm as well as the broker.
If the brokerage firm where you invested your money fails to properly supervise its employees, an investment fraud attorney serving Worcester can help you recover the money you lost.
Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Many of those working in the financial industry have a significant fiduciary responsibility to those whose money they handle. If a broker or financial advisor mishandles the money of a client, they can significantly harm their financial future.
Your financial advisor must perform due diligence on any investment opportunity they present to you. This includes learning all the ins and outs of the investment, analyzing the risks and rewards, ensuring the investment opportunity is aligned with your investment objectives, and presenting you with full and accurate information about the investment.
We Have Recovered Over
$350 Million for Our Clients Nationwide.
Identifying the Cause of Your Financial Losses
Following significant losses to your investment, determining the cause can be challenging. However, doing so is critical. While you cannot recover losses to recover damages caused by a downturn in the market, you will be able to pursue compensation if your losses were caused by investment fraud or other misconduct.
To assist you in identifying the cause of your losses, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has created a checklist of investment fraud red flags. If you come across anything on this list that sounds familiar, you might want to consider getting in touch with an experienced securities fraud attorney.
Meyer Wilson’s Award-Winning Team Has Recovered Over $350 Million for Our Clients
Boasting more than 75 years of experience, our team of investment fraud lawyers has made us one of the top investment fraud firms in the country. Some of the reasons to choose us over our competitors include:
- Our commitment to providing all our clients with the attention they need by maintaining a manageable caseload size
- Our guarantee that our clients will not have to pay for our services unless they recover damages
- Our use of state-of-the-art technology throughout our firm
- Our approach of preparing every case for trial from the moment we start handling them, which gives us leverage in settlement negotiations while ensuring that we are ready should a trial prove necessary
Our lawyers are nationwide leaders in investment fraud cases.
Get Started With a Worcester Investment Fraud Attorney Today
After losing money due to investment fraud, securing the services of an experienced attorney can prove critical. At Meyer Wilson, our investment fraud lawyers serving clients in Worcester can significantly improve your chances of recovering the compensation you deserve.
Contact us to set up a free case evaluation today. You can reach us through this website or by phone to get started.
Recovering Losses Caused by Investment Misconduct.