Unauthorized Trading - When Your Broker Bought Or Sold Something Without Your Permission

Your broker must obtain your permission before buying or selling anything for your account. Keep in mind that you can provide a "trading authorization" that allows your broker to buy and sell securities in your account without having to contact you. However, that does not mean your broker can misuse or exceed this authority. Brokers who make unsuitable trades or unauthorized trades may be held liable for any financial losses that were sustained.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) an example of unauthorized trading would be a situation where your broker believed that a transaction was in your best interest, but could not reach you and made a trade without your permission. Even if your broker had good intentions, unauthorized trading is not allowed.

Brokers often earn commissions on transactions that they make, so you need to pay careful attention to the activity occurring in your account. You should also read through confirmations that you receive in the mail, to make sure there were no trades made without your authorization.

If you discover that trades were made on your behalf without your permission, you will need to do the following in order to successfully pursue a claim to recover losses:

1. You have to prove that the unauthorized transactions occurred.
2. You need to show that you did not give permission. Any evidence that you can provide that proves that you didn’t authorize the transactions, such as the fact that you were out of town or unavailable at the time, would be helpful.
3. You must show that you suffered a loss from the unauthorized trades.

For a free case evaluation regarding your unauthorized trading case, contact an experienced securities arbitration attorney at the law firm of Meyer Wilson. We have helped more than 800 investors nationwide and have recovered millions of dollars in losses for our clients.

Contact us today at 1.866.827.6537 or fill out our online form.