I own what were described as "alternative" investments, yet my investments have plummeted in value. Can I recover those losses?

All investments must be suitable for the investor in light of age, liquidity needs, risk tolerance, investment objectives and all market conditions. Moreover, the risks and features of an "alternative" investment must be adequately explained, including what could happen in a down market such as what we are experiencing with the Coronavirus.

"Alternative" investment losses thus can be recovered if those investments were not suitable, the risks were not adequately explained, or if any of the following alternative investments are involved:

  • Leveraged ETF or Inverse ETF
  • Energy (oil and gas) limited partnership
  • Non-traded REIT (real estate investment trust)
  • BDC (Business Development Company) limited partnership
  • Reverse Convertible Note or Reverse Convertible Bond (also known as "revertible notes" and "reverse exchangeable securities")
  • Hedge Fund
  • Equity-Indexed Annuity
  • Any other "structured product" that combined and underlying investment with the use of derivatives such as options

If you or someone you know incurred losses with such alternative investments or "structured products", and any of the above happened, we recommend contacting us for a no-charge consultation. Most investors file claims in FINRA arbitration to recover their losses, and most claims are brought on a "contingency fee" basis.

 

Categorized in: Covid FAQs

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We just wanted to say thanks for your work in helping us get back some of the money we lost. We are not by any means rich, but we have saved some money and we have done so through a tight-fisted approach to most everything we do. So losing a significant chunk of money hurt…especially at a time when everyone else was growing their accounts. We really appreciate the work you did.

Allan and Adele

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