Does Your Broker Owe You Money

Rating:
Summary: Retail Investors...IF you think you have a claim...
Review: ...you should read this book. If not, Dan Solin's book, DOES YOUR BROKER OWE YOU MONEY? is an excellent primer for those wanting to understand the 'inside skinny' of the brokerage business, responsibilities of brokers, alternatives to aggreived investors and possibilities for recovery if damaged.

I've been in the litigation consulting game (as a consulting and testifying expert) for close to a decade now, primarily in securities, and can say that Solin's book is the first book I've run across bringing all the pieces together in a cogent manner. While other books are out there and new ones arriving daily, Solin's book stands out as the cream of this crop. {Solin, a plaintiff's attorney, has been in the game for 30+ years. There will be and are many who will think this is his personal soapbox to drum up more business. I fervently disagree. Solin presents a solid, fact-based picture of many of the misdeeds inflicted by unscrupulous brokers. There is very little fluff here.}

Solin walks the reader through most aspects of a relationship with a broker as well as identifying the "warning signs" within the relationship for any investor to observe. In the first chapter, "Your Broker Just Might Owe You Money," Solin describes the 'chatter' many brokers use to market themselves and pick off unsuspecting investors. He then goes on to describe areas of broker fraud and NYSE/NASD/SEC violations, which he details in later chapters.

If there is one chapter I would strongly suggest most retail investors read and reread, it is Chapter 4, "Unsuitability: What's a Good Investment Strategy for You?" By and large, most lawsuits I've consulted/testified in have allegations of unsuitable investments. Simplisticly, unsuitability can be defined as a broker's disregard for an investor's risk tolerance and investment objectives. This disregard is primarily manifested in recommendations from a broker to buy a stock considered outside the risk paramters and investment objectives. For instance, many retired individuals have an IRA or 401(K) account with a broker. In most cases, these accounts are very conservative and thus, have a risk profile of 'conservative' and investment objectives to match (i.e. 'safety of principal' and 'income' are the primary investment objectives). An unsuitability claim would arise if a broker induced/encouraged/suggested a stock considered outside these parameters, say, ones fitting the 'growth' profile or 'aggressive growth' profile. In any event, this practice, particularly during the "Bubble" was prevalent as many investors wanted to participate in the market boom and were easy prey to rougish brokers.

In later chapters, Solin describes the lawsuit process, which is actually an arbitration process. Significantly all investors, when signing their new account papers with a brokerage house, agree to binding arbitration to settle disputes as opposed to having their dispute heard state or federal court. The arbitration process is simpler, quicker (in most cases), and less formal...but don't be mistaken, it is still a lawsuit and the stress and high intensity is still omnipresent. Solin does an excellent job of describing the process beginning with contacting an attorney and ending with the arbitration panel's decision. Within these chapters, Solin describes those investors wishing to "go it alone," filing a suit without an attorney. Solin gives this a fair level of play, which I admire in an attorney however, he strongly suggests (and I stronlgy concur) that anyone seeking compensation under a securities lawsuit hire the best attorney one can find.

Finally, Solin provides an excellent glossary and bibliography, one that should be used for future reference.

After reading this book, I easily rate this book 5 stars for it's clear and concise explanation, one appealing to the leity and professionals alike. Several reviews of this book describe Solin as a "talking head" or the champion of those not wishing to take responsibility for their own actions. While there is credence in the fact that many investors, while losing their proverbial shirts, are solely responsible for their losses, there are many, many investors who have been duped and even defrauded by their brokers and brokerage houses (remember the 4/28/03 SEC settlement with the 10 large brokerage houses?). Contrary to these reviewers, I believe Solin gives fair play to those responsible for their own losses and those not responsible. In any event, in my practice, I have no interest in frivolous cases and reject cases lacking merit. Inasmuch as I didn't find Solin's book unconscionable, I don't believe it to be fodder for the attorney lobby.

A very good read.

Rating:
Summary: Does Your Broker Owe You Money Hits Home
Review: Dan Solin has provided a very nice primer with detail to the person who is wondering if they lost money due to the market or due to their broker.When the market meltdown began in March 2000, the bad habits and unrestrained greed of unprofessional brokers became as transparent as handi-wrap. The customers who were lured into unsuitable investments due to the way in which commissions were paid is exposed for what it is in this book.
Whether trying to recover losses for mutual funds or simple stock transactions, Dan Solin hits the mark and provides plenty of illumination on an otherwise private and hard to understand business. This is a must read for anyone who is beginning to invest or trying to determine how to recover monies lost in the meltdown.

Rating:
Summary: No secrets
Review: I borrowed this book from a friend because I couldn't believe the inflamatory title. Well no surprise, nothing new. If you're investing in this day and age and you don't want to pay attention to the activity in your brokerage account or you don't feel like you have the intelligence to understand the market, pay a management fee, get a discretionary account, and have the broker direct the investing. As a regular investor, I'm responsible for the decisions I make and the stocks I purchase. I think it is insulting and highly unethical to sue just because you lost money in the market. Don't bother with the book.

Rating:
Summary: a must read for all retail investors
Review: It will come as a great shock to most retail investors that their brokers add cost, not value. For all their claimed expertise, brokers' stock picks perform less well than if investors just bought and held a diversifiable portfolio with the correct mix of stocks and bonds. When brokerage firms extract 5, 10, or 15% per year from their customers' accounts in explicit and hidden costs without adding any value, they are simply reducing their customers' wealth by the amount of these costs. When brokerage firms encourage investors to hold poorly diversified portfolios in the face of the overwhelming evidence that brokerage firms' picks underperform the market portfolio, they expose investors to additional risk, risk for which the investor is not compensated. It is time that someone like Mr. Solin explained these simple, irrefutable facts to victims of brokerage firms' incompetent or fraudlent practices. His discussion of the undisclosed, pernicious conflicts of interest in the brokerage industry is especially timely.

This book tells investors how to avoid becoming a victim of brokers and what to do if they are already one. I particularly liked the real world stories of victimized investors which appear at the beginning of each chapter. I have been a finance academic, an SEC economist, an arbitrator and an expert witness for both brokers and customers and can attest that for many investors, this will be the most important book they ever read. It will be interesting to see the reaction of the brokerage community.

Rating:
Summary: Bogus Claims of Author
Review: It's over, on 9/27/02 on the O'Reilly Factor, Daniel Solin has shown that with his pessimistic view that we have reached a bottom. Unreal. He is the flip side of the Bull Market talking heads.

Rating:
Summary: Insight & Assistance for the Beleaguered & Bewildered
Review: Most investors in the stock market lack the sophistication to really understand what their broker is doing'or not doing'with their hard-earned money. If brokers are not well- trained in how to serve their clients and/or they're more focused on lining their pockets rather than their clients' pockets, investors can lose their shirts'and then some. When their world crashes around them, these troubled people go to professionals like Daniel Solin.

During this painful time, investors learn what they should have known long before. Sometimes they can recoup some of their losses, sometimes not. Understanding the playing field before suiting up means a considerably better chance at winning the game (or at least playing well). Solin teaches readers'in page after high content page'what brokers do to damage their clients. Unconditional trust in your broker may not be the wisest move. The potential for fraud is rampant. You'll learn about churning, frontrunning, unauthorized trading, and a host of other malpractices that create risks beyond the market itself for the unwitting investor.

Solin is a trial attorney with over three decades of experience. He has recovered millions of dollars for investors who have been mistreated by brokers'even those employed by well-known and respected brokerage firms. He doesn't always win, so readers should not get the idea that Solin is some sort of guardian angel. The good, the bad, and the ugly are presented in stories and case studies, with the outcomes explained. Reading this book will help you protect yourself. An educated buyer is a wiser and safer buyer.

The book is almost a page-turner, but not quite. It wasn't written to be a fun read. You'll probably want to do some highlighting, some page-turning, and some note-taking. As a result of using this book as an educational tool, you'll be better equipped to ask questions, to insist on certain information, to protect yourself just a bit better than the average guy or gal with money in the market.

A glossary, index, and solid explanations of risks and arbitration make this book a valuable resource.

Rating:
Summary: No secrets
Review: Most investors in the stock market lack the sophistication to really understand what their broker is doing�or not doing�with their hard-earned money. If brokers are not well- trained in how to serve their clients and/or they�re more focused on lining their pockets rather than their clients� pockets, investors can lose their shirts�and then some. When their world crashes around them, these troubled people go to professionals like Daniel Solin.

During this painful time, investors learn what they should have known long before. Sometimes they can recoup some of their losses, sometimes not. Understanding the playing field before suiting up means a considerably better chance at winning the game (or at least playing well). Solin teaches readers�in page after high content page�what brokers do to damage their clients. Unconditional trust in your broker may not be the wisest move. The potential for fraud is rampant. You�ll learn about churning, frontrunning, unauthorized trading, and a host of other malpractices that create risks beyond the market itself for the unwitting investor.

Solin is a trial attorney with over three decades of experience. He has recovered millions of dollars for investors who have been mistreated by brokers�even those employed by well-known and respected brokerage firms. He doesn�t always win, so readers should not get the idea that Solin is some sort of guardian angel. The good, the bad, and the ugly are presented in stories and case studies, with the outcomes explained. Reading this book will help you protect yourself. An educated buyer is a wiser and safer buyer.

The book is almost a page-turner, but not quite. It wasn�t written to be a fun read. You�ll probably want to do some highlighting, some page-turning, and some note-taking. As a result of using this book as an educational tool, you�ll be better equipped to ask questions, to insist on certain information, to protect yourself just a bit better than the average guy or gal with money in the market.

A glossary, index, and solid explanations of risks and arbitration make this book a valuable resource.

Rating:
Summary: A must read for all investors
Review: Mr. Solin's book is an indispensable guide to anyone with a brokerage account. For those who suspect wrongdoing on the part of their broker, this book is a roadmap to getting their money back. For investors looking to become better informed, Mr. Solin draws back the curtain on how Wall Street works revealing hidden costs and conflicts of interest that are rarely, if ever, disclosed by brokers.

As a twenty year veteran of Wall Street and as a secutities arbitration attorney, I can say without reservation that Mr.Solin's in depth analysis of broker behavior is right on target. This book is a must read for anyone with a brokerage account as well as any attorney who is new to the complex field of securities litigation/arbitration.

Congratulations to Mr. Solin for providing a much needed guide to uncovering and preventing broker fraud.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent primer for individual investors
Review: Several years ago, as a summer intern in a large financial services company, I was given the opportunity to attend an Investment Advisor (Broker) training seminar. The experience was an eye-opener. The entire class was devoted to lead generation, not sound investing techniques. Those with some prior sales experience shared with others their methods of obtaining the names of wealthy (potential) clients. Among the methods included was slipping the receptionist at the local country club a twenty dollar bill for the club registry. On and on this went, with no discussion of investing fundamentals.

For many years in the 1990's, the knowledge that many brokers were, at best, modestly informed salesmen was confined to industry insiders and experienced investors. Dan Solin aims to bring this understanding to a wider audience, having worked with those who have either been swindled, misled, or simply given very poor investing advice. From reading this book, my impression of Mr. Solin is that he has simply had enough.

The book combines three main components - 1.) An overview into the conflicts inherent in the broker-client relationship and how these conflicts often hurt the retail investor 2.) A summary of Modern Portfolio Theory and its implications for the average investor and 3.) A discussion of avenues available to investors who believe they have a claim against their broker and/or brokerage firm. The writing is very accessible and conversational, and Mr. Solin writes as if he is very eager for the reader to grasp this information.

For many, parts of this book will be a review. However, this is the first book I have seen that provides an explanation of the theoretical underpinnings behind indexing (passive investing), uses this theoretical framework to question the value of many broker offered services, and then offers the investor options if his or her accounts have been abused or improperly handled. And writing the book off as the author's attempt to generate more business is too convenient, too pat an answer. I think that his preferred outcome is to educate, partly so that he won't have to hear about retirees having their money stolen by predatory brokers.

In short, an excellent primer for individual investors.

Rating:
Summary: A Vital Resource For Any Brokerage Client
Review: The financial services industry, especially its retail brokerage arm, operates at a level of training, competency, and ethical imperative that would be unacceptable in any other profession. It is a sad fact that most retail brokers are completely ignorant of the basics of financial economics; it is as if the average doctor had never taken courses in basic anatomy, pathology, and pharmacology. At any one time, millions of clients are receiving advice that is profoundly misinformed, as well as a gross conflict of interest, and suffer accordingly.

Dan Solin has produced a valuable resource for anyone who have been damaged in this manner. It focuses largely on the arbitration process; it is the best description of its mechanics that I have seen. This book is a must for any retail brokerage customer.