Arbitration Cocktail: Unnamed Registered Rep's Nightmare After Case Settles

October 7, 2011

You Sure They Settled that FINRA Arbitration? Really? Why?

In Bill Singer's October 2011 "Street Legal" column at Registered Rep. magazine, he presents us with a provocative FINRA arbitration.  If you're up for a puzzle, you've got to read this article.  Here's a teaser:

So, lemme see if I understand this mess. A public customer sues a brokerage firm but doesn't name the servicing stockbroker. The customer complains about trading, but he has a non-discretionary account and the unnamed broker pointedly told the customer that he could not manage his account (likely because it was too small under the firm's guidelines).

The customer appears to be complaining about positions that were transferred to MSSB from another firm and not solicited by the unnamed broker. During the five-month period about which the customer complained of losses, the stock market was in the midst of the historic 2008 crash. Finally, the customer exonerated the unnamed broker in March 2011, raising the question of just exactly who did what, when, where, how, and why. Otherwise, this arbitration is crystal clear.  READ