Recovering Losses caused by Investment Misconduct

Investment Advisers’ Disciplinary Records Now Available Online

The disciplinary records of individuals licensed as investment adviser representatives (IARs) are now available online for the first time.  Investors may now visit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website to search for reports on IARs.

The SEC website previously only provided information on investment adviser firms, but not individual investment advisers.  Also, until now, only information on those registered as brokers was available through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)’s BrokerCheck.  Investors can now access BrokerCheck records on IARs directly from the SEC’s website.

BrokerCheck is a free tool that gives investors the capability to look up brokers and brokerage firms, and now also provides information on IARs.  Through BrokerCheck, you can view records of previous complaints or regulatory actions.

If a broker is reluctant to provide you with his or her CRD number, that should be a red flag and an indication that you might want to think twice about hiring this person.

To learn more about protecting yourself against unscrupulous investment professionals, read our post on “Reducing Your Odds of Financial Loss Starts with Choosing the Right Investment Professional.”