Suspect Investment Fraud? 4 Reasons You Should Hire a Securities Law Attorney
When you're trying to prepare for your future, you want to make sure that all your investments are sound. To ensure that, you might seek guidance from an investment counselor. Unfortunately, even with your best efforts, problems can arise. One of those problems involves investment fraud. If you believe that you've been the victim of investment fraud, you need to hire an attorney right away. If you're not sure what investment fraud involves, take a look at the list provided below. If any of these situations apply to you, contact a securities law attorney such as Carter West Law and schedule an appointment as soon as possible.
You've Sustained Significant Losses
When you invest your money, there's an anticipation that you might lose some money along the way. However, you probably don't anticipate extreme losses. If you've sustained a significant financial loss as a result of a recent investment, you need to sit down with an attorney. Your loss may be related to fraud on the part of your investment counselor.
You Didn't Understand the Investment Product
If you're working with an investment counselor, they should be providing complete details about any investment product they're recommending. Failure to understand an investment product could put you at risk for financial problems. If you've been pressured into investing in a product that you didn't understand, or there were risks involved that weren't explained to you at the time of your investment, sit down with a securities attorney right away. You may be the victim of securities fraud.
You Were Promised a Guaranteed Return
When it comes to investments, there's never a guarantee that you'll see a financial return. Most investment counselors will avoid offering promises or guarantees of a financial return on an investment. However, there may be times when someone does attempt to provide a guarantee as a way to make the investment more enticing. If that happened to you, and you suffered a financial loss as a result of that guarantee, it's time to hire a securities attorney.
You've Found Unexplained Investment Activity
If you have an investment portfolio, you should go over your records on a regular basis. Inspecting your records is the best way to identify fraudulent activities. If you find unexplained investment activities in your portfolio, including investments that you don't remember making or sales that you don't remember authorizing, you need to consult with an attorney as soon as possible. Those transactions may be the sign of fraudulent activity on your investment accounts.