GM, Ford, Chrysler Retirees: Beware of Financial Advisors After Your Severance!

About 7,500 General Motors workers recently agreed to a buyout of early retirement incentives and leave the company. Chrysler, Ford and many suppliers of the industry have also made offers to entice workers to take early retirement. This follows tens of thousands of other industry workers who have been bought-out of pension and other benefits in recent years.

Many who retire have little if any experience in investing and are soon beseiged by droves of salespersons hawking financial plans. In the past, strict laws and regulations were enforced regarding investors’ funds, especially retirement funds. However, as we have recently witnessed, securities regulators appear to be overwhelmed or incompetent.

For decades, Wall Street has blamed any abuse of investors on a few “rogue” brokers. Yet, many now believe that Wall Street is actually rotten to the core. In fact, the majority of financial advisors sincerely and diligently seek to serve their clients, although many of the investment products they are told to sell are inappropriate, riddled with costs or just plain fraudulent. Sadly, too many of the worst advisors attract unwary investors with false promises.

Victims of financial abuse are often unaware that they can seek recovery of undue investment losses according to the law. But investors must understand that the regulators “police” the securities industry and write tickets when they catch the bad guys. In order to recover, victims must hire an attorney to represent them in court or in securities arbitration.

The law firm of Shepherd Smith Edwards &Kantas, LLP has represented thousands of investors, most who lost retirement funds, and many who are former autoworkers. Attorney