Nowadays, just about everybody’s been wondering if their money’s in the right place. But economic woes aside, these ten clues ought to give you that something’s-not-right feeling in your gut when it comes to your investment broker’s handling of your account—and possibly grounds for a securities fraud case…
1. There’s inconsistency between your broker’s verbal statements and the performance of your investments.
2. There are misrepresentations by your broker, or important information about an investment which the broker did not disclose—particularly regarding the investment’s level of risk.
3. If you notice frequent and excessive trading in the account, including “in and out” trading.
4. You notice trading in high risk, speculative or unsuitable investments.
5. Your broker is managing your account by trading in securities and strategies that you don’t understand.
6. Your broker is making trades that you did not previously authorize.
7. There is trading in low-value securities or obscure companies on foreign exchanges, or private investments.
8. Your broker—or his supervisor—fail to respond to your complaints.
9. Your broker makes repeated promises to make up for losses through various devices.
10. There is a loss of funds or value in the account that you do not understand, and your broker cannot reasonably explain.