Chicago Investment Advisor and Broker Fraud Attorneys

Chicago, Illinois is the third-largest city in the United States and a melting pot of diverse ethnic communities. It is also a major center for arts and culture, education, industries, transportation, tourism, and much more.

As one of the world’s largest financial hubs, Chicago is home to the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Globe Markets (CBOE), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Many of Chicago’s sports teams have reached world-famous status with their championship wins. These include the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox (MLB), the Chicago Bears (NFL), the Chicago Bulls (NBA), and the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL).

At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas (SSEK Law Firm at investorlawyers.com), our experienced Chicago investment advisor and broker fraud attorneys represent investors in the metropolitan area and throughout Illinois, in recovering the losses they sustained because a financial advisor was negligent or mismanaged their portfolio.

Over the last 30 years, we have recovered many millions of dollars on behalf of thousands of investors. Call our Chicago law office at (312) 462-4176.

If you are an investor in Illinois whose portfolio has suffered significant investment losses, and you are wondering whether financial advisor fraud or negligence played a role, it is important that you consult with a skilled Chicago investment fraud lawyer right away.

Granted, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) exists to protect the state’s residents and make sure that those licensed to provide services are “competent professionals.” There is also the Illinois Securities Department, which regulates the offering and sales of securities, investigates allegations of fraud, and issues administrative claims.

However, your best chance of obtaining the maximum recovery possible is to hire your own legal team that will fight for you.

You will need to work with seasoned securities arbitration professionals that can argue your broker fraud claim before a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitrator panel and help you take the necessary steps to keep you from losing even more money.

At SSEK Law Firm, our attorneys, consultants, and others have over a century’s worth of collective experience in securities law and the securities industry. Since 1990, we have successfully represented investors in arbitration, mediation, negotiation, and litigation. Most of our clients have recovered all or part of their losses.

Even when a financial product fails, whether because of market turbulence or adverse events, it is worth exploring whether your financial advisor and their firm acted in ways that placed you in a position precarious enough for you to sustain significant losses. A few examples include:

• Did your broker make unsuitable recommendations while knowing that this investment or trading strategy was too risky for your portfolio or not in line with your investing goals?
• Did your broker-dealer know that an investment was in trouble yet encouraged its registered representatives to keep marketing it to customers so as to get rid of unwanted inventory?
• Was there excessive trading in your account?
• Perhaps your financial advisor overconcentrated your account in too much of one investment, making you vulnerable to huge losses that could have been avoided if only your portfolio were better diversified.

Another common reason why investors lose money is because their investment advisor or broker aggressively sold them on the benefits of a financial product or strategy while downplaying the risks. This is known as making misrepresentations and omissions.

Brokerage firms can be held liable for failing to supervise their registered representative when investors lose money.

Sometimes, it is the broker-dealer who encourages their financial representatives to market investments even when it is not in their customers’ best interests. The lure of high commissions from risky products, including real estate investment trusts (REITs), exchange-traded notes (ETNs), structured notes, and private placements is one reason why many retail investors, including seniors and retirees, end up with financial products they never should have purchased.

Our savvy Chicago broker fraud law firm is known for zealously advocating for our investors and their right to financial recovery. In Cook County, DuPage County, Will County, Lake County, McHenry County, and elsewhere in Illinois, SSEK Law Firm is here to help you explore your legal options. Contact us online or call our law office in Chicago at (312) 462-4176 to request your free, no-obligation case consultation.