Virginia Securities Attorneys

The Virginia securities attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP represent investors in securities arbitrations through The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) throughout the State of Virginia. Our investment fraud attorneys represent investors in all major cities and locations throughout the State of Virginia including Richmond, Fairfax, Norfolk, Alexandria, Chesapeake, Hampton, Virginia Beach, Newport, Suffolk, and Portsmouth

Our securities attorneys take a forensic approach to analyzing our clients claims. The most common claims we see in FINRA securities arbitrations are claims that a broker or broker-dealer made unsuitable investments in the sale of securities. This claim requires a deep financial analysis of a client’s investment profile, risk tolerance, investment objectives, and levels of sophistication to determine whether the recommended investment products were reasonable suitable for the client.

Another common claim our Virginia securities attorneys see are claims of churning or excessive trading. In these cases, a claimant must prove that the broker controlled the account and purchased or sold securities for the purpose of generating commissions.

Another claim our securities attorneys see often is claims of securities fraud. Securities fraud occurs when a broker either omits material information or makes a material misrepresentation in the purchase, sale or exchange of a security or securities that is the direct and proximate cause of an investor’s loss. These claims can be brought under Virginia’s blue sky or securities laws.

By the time clients first retain us, many of them have suffered insurmountable financial losses in their portfolios. Many clients cannot discern where their funds have gone, how their broker permitted such losses to occur in the first place, and what their investments are currently worth.

Investors in Virginia are protected by legislative laws and statutes in conjunction with industry rules that prohibit brokers from engaging in fraud, unsuitable sales, churning, unauthorized trading, failure to supervise, breach of fiduciary duty, or negligence. Below are useful links and resources covering some of the investor protections available in the State of Virginia:

• Virginia Division of Securities and Retail Franchising is responsible for the regulation or securities, broker-dealers, agents, investment advisors and their representatives.
• The Consumer Protection Division within the Attorney General’s office enforces state and federal consumer protection law in order to keep Virginians safe from consumer fraud.
• Virginia Securities Act is a state law that regulates the industry in such areas as registration, issuance and exemptions.
• FINRA oversees and regulates all broker-dealers in the United States. FINRA, in conjunction with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also creates and enforces the securities laws.

Unfortunately investors are rarely reimbursed by state securities regulators as a result of an enforcement action. By hiring an experienced securities attorney to pursue their claim, investors have the best chance to be compensated. The attorneys of Gana Weinstein LLP can help clients determine if investment losses were the result of normal market forces or misconduct by Wall Street. We apply a detailed and forensic approach to understanding your investment activity to explain those losses and apply the appropriate law to advance your claims.

In many cases, broker-dealers and investment advisers simply sell novel investment products in order to garner large commissions for them regardless of the investor’s willingness to withstand the large losses. Some of our clients are sold novel and exotic investment products that are only appropriate for a small group of sophisticated investors willing to take excessive risk. In other cases, clients’ approach us with account statements containing voluminous and complex trading activity in which they are unable to determine the actual losses suffered. Many times these indecipherable account statements are set up to cover up excessive trading activity and risk.

To learn more about potential claims and securities topics please visit our Securities Arbitration & Litigation page. Gana Weinstein LLP represents investors in all major Virginia cities including Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Richmond, Newport News, Alexandria, Hampton, Roanoke, Portsmouth and Suffolk. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.