Suing my broker for bad investment
I invested ( foolishly ) in a Non Publicly traded REIT 5 years ago ,the broker told me the longest it would be until i could get money out would be 5 years, it has been 5 years now he says there is no way to get my money out. I’m 65 and don’t have money to lose. Even though it gets a dividend the initial investment has lost 40%. Is there an oversight agency that can help me ? Thank you .
Terry Says
Basically, I think you are stuck with the investment — but you can raise a stink!
Write what you said to me to the branch manager and say that you are filing an arbitration complaint based on the fact that the REIT was an UNSUITABLE investment for someone who had stated he needed liquidity at retirement. Demand a response within 2 days. Attach the letter to an email, and blind copy yourself on it, as well, so you have documentation that it was sent. The key is “suitability” because that was the standard of care when you were sold this investment.
You’ll file that claim with FINRA. Here’s a link to the page explaining the process You don’t need an attorney to file.
Keep track of all aspects of the process, including responses from the firm. Refuse to talk on the phone, and keep a record of email responses. If you’re willing to do the hard work on this, instead of just being angry, you might get some of your money back — but it will take a while.
