San Diego Investment Loss Law Firm

San Diego, CA Investment Loss Law Firm

Representing Southern California Investors Against Brokers and Investment Advisers

In recent years, alternative investments have become an attractive draw for investors looking to diversify and expand their portfolios. However, these little-regulated, complex securities can also be high-risk and they are not suitable for every investor. If you are a Southern California investor who sustained losses after your broker or investment adviser unsuitably recommended an alternative investment, Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas San Diego Investment Loss Law Firm want to talk to you.

For over 30 years, our San Diego alternative investment loss law firm has been representing retail investors, elderly investors, retirees, accredited investors, high-net-worth investors, and ultra-high-net-worth investors in pursuing the damages they are owed because of a financial advisor’s fraudulent or careless actions.

Brokers and investment advisers, as well as the firms they are registered with, owe customers a duty of care to make sure that the alternative investment is legitimate, not showing signs of trouble, and an appropriate fit before marketing and selling it to a customer. When negligence in performing these obligations contributes to the investor suffering alternative investment losses, there may be grounds for a claim to pursue damages.

What Is An Alternative Investment?

This is a term used to describe securities not sold on a public exchange that fall outside what is considered more traditional investments, such as stocks, cash, and bonds. Once only sold to certain investors—mostly institutional investors—a number of them have become more popular with and accessible to retail investors.

Examples of Alternative Investments:

Private placements
Regulation D Offerings
Non-traded real estate investment trusts
Real Estate investment trusts
Oil and gas investments
Energy investments
Private equity funds
Business development companies
Delaware statutory trusts
Structured products
Annuities
Structured notes
Commodities
Exchange-traded funds
Hedge funds
Private debt and equity
Venture capital
Cryptocurrency
More.

In addition to adding diversification to an investor’s portfolio, some alternative investments are less volatile than investments that are publicly traded because they aren’t vulnerable to market fluctuations. There is also the potential there for a higher yield that can be earned from traditional investments.

However, the risks involving alternative investments can outweigh the benefits, such as, a lack of proper regulation, illiquidity, non-transparency, high upfront minimums, and complex fee structures. Add some type of fraud into the mix, and serious investor losses can occur.

How Can Our San Diego Investment Loss Law Firm Help?

Unfortunately, there are brokers that will opt to make the higher commissions they can earn from selling an alternative investment to a customer rather than making sure it is an appropriate recommendation given the latter’s financial goals, age, risk tolerance level, and the makeup of their portfolio.

Concentration, selling away, misrepresentations and omission, due diligence failures, negligence, gross negligence, and failure to supervise are also acts of financial advisor misconduct that can occur in the selling of alternative investments.

For example, a broker should make reasonable efforts to collect and assess information about an alternative investment, the issuer, its assets, any claims being made in offering materials, and how the proceeds are going to be used.

This and other material information should be disclosed by the financial advisor to the customer, with the former taking the necessary steps to ensure that the investor understands what is involved. Failure to do any of this can be grounds for a lawsuit against the broker-dealer and/or its registered representative if serious portfolio losses occur.

At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, our San Diego Investment Loss Law Firm has the skills, resources, and knowledge to identify the cause of your losses and whether financial advisor misconduct, fraud, or negligence played a part. We represent investors in arbitration, mediation, and litigation.

When you work with us, you can trust that you will receive quality securities representation and personalized attention. Every one of us at our San Diego Investment Loss Law Firm will be working on our case, which will allow you to avail of more than a century’s worth of combined experience in securities law and the securities industry. Over the decades, we have helped thousands of investors to collectively recoup many millions of dollars in settlements or awards from the liable financial firms and/or their registered representatives.

Contact Our Southern California Alternative Investment Loss Law Firm:

In San Diego County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County, Santa Barbara County, San Bernardino County, San Luis Obispo County, Ventura County, Kern County, Orange County, and Imperial County, CA, call (619) 550-4847 or (800) 259-9010. You can also fill out this form.

Our San Diego Investment Loss Law Firm:

1545 Hotel Cir S #150-1
San Diego, CA 92108