Information about suing a financial advisor?

[indexxx]

Of course you need to pay for you lawyer, nobody else will.
Your "friend" will have E&O insurance and will not need to pay for his however.

Hmm- I was hoping there was a body I could report this to or something that would look into it.

[MoneyGal]

Yes. There is. Depending on how this person is registered, you can report them to their licensing body. If they have multiple registrations/designations, you can report them to multiple bodies.

You can also complain to the financial services commission in your province and territory. Here is more information on the Ontario commission: http://www.fsco.gov.on.ca/en/about/m...g_process.aspx

NOTE: NONE of these actions will result in any kind of restitution for your wife. Instead, they could result in the advisor being disciplined by the licensing and regulating agencies -- i.e., lose his license, pay a fine, etc. But if your wife wants financial restitution, she is going to have to sue the individual and his firm directly.

[kcowan]

When I had a bailiff come to my house to repossess my used car, I showed him the bill of sale from a car dealer. He referred me to an Ontario government agency that controls dealer licensing. They eventually brought the dealer to heal by threatening to lift their dealer license. Sometimes the government works for you. They had to settle a TD loan against the vehicle. ($19k settled for $2k.)

[indexxx]

Yes. There is. Depending on how this person is registered, you can report them to their licensing body. If they have multiple registrations/designations, you can report them to multiple bodies.

You can also complain to the financial services commission in your province and territory. Here is more information on the Ontario commission: http://www.fsco.gov.on.ca/en/about/m...g_process.aspx

NOTE: NONE of these actions will result in any kind of restitution for your wife. Instead, they could result in the advisor being disciplined by the licensing and regulating agencies -- i.e., lose his license, pay a fine, etc. But if your wife wants financial restitution, she is going to have to sue the individual and his firm directly.

Thanks MoneyGal, that is very useful- and thanks to all. Sticky situation, and I was not involved with her when all this was going down. It's a case of her and her BF at the time trusting someone too much, someone they knew socially beforehand, and having no financial knowledge of their own. Last year I did a bit of training at an insurance company, thinking to become an "advisor" with them- then I discovered all the shady investments they offer, and couldn't do it. They also want you to bring in your family and friends to get them on board... and I learned about E&O coverage and that (theoretically) your 'advisor' cannot get you into anything in the manner this guy did.

This is exactly why I never, ever do business with friends, unless we've become friends through good business first.