{"id":36845,"date":"2008-03-26T16:35:41","date_gmt":"2008-03-26T21:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-legal\/uncategorized\/finding-a-securities-broker.html"},"modified":"2008-03-26T16:35:41","modified_gmt":"2008-03-26T21:35:41","slug":"finding-a-securities-broker","status":"publish","type":"corporate","link":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/litigation-disputes\/finding-a-securities-broker.html","title":{"rendered":"Finding A Securities Broker"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline\">\n    <div class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-content\">\n                    <p><em>This article was edited and reviewed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/company\/our-team.html\" rel=\"noopener\">FindLaw Attorney Writers<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n                | Last reviewed\n        <time>\n                            May 07, 2026\n                    <\/time>\n    <\/div>\n\n    \n    <div class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-toggle fl-gutenberg-byline-legally-reviewed\">\n        <h2>\n            <button tabindex=\"0\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n                <i class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-icon\"><\/i>\n                Legally Reviewed\n            <\/button>\n        <\/h2>\n\n        <div class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-toggle-content\">\n            <p><em>This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/company\/our-team.html\" rel=\"noopener\">FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/company\/company-history\/editorial-policy.html\" rel=\"noopener\">our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-toggle fl-gutenberg-byline-fast-checked\">\n        <h2>\n            <button tabindex=\"0\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n                <i class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-icon\"><\/i>\n                Fact-Checked\n            <\/button>\n        <\/h2>\n\n        <div class=\"fl-gutenberg-byline-toggle-content\">\n            <p><em>The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/company\/our-team\/contributing-authors.html\" rel=\"noopener\">contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please <a href=\"https:\/\/lawyers.findlaw.com\/?fli=bylinelink\" rel=\"noopener\">contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"rxbodyfield\" xmlns:o=\"urn:www.microsoft.com\/office\" xmlns:st1=\"urn:www.microsoft.com\/smarttags\" xmlns:w=\"urn:www.microsoft.com\/word\" xmlns:x=\"urn:www.microsoft.com\/excel\"><p>It&#39;s your money. Do you have reason to trust him\/her and the company he\/she works for?<\/p><p><b>1. What you should learn about a securities broker:<\/b><\/p><p>(a) What is his education?<\/p><p>(b) What professional licenses does he have? Is he a licensed &quot;registered representative&quot; whose activities are regulated by the SEC, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (&quot;NASD&quot;) and your state&#39;s Blue Sky Commissioner?<\/p><p>(c) What is his experience in the business?<\/p><p>(d) How does he get paid? If it is sales commissions, he doesn&#39;t get paid if he doesn&#39;t make the sale. (Most brokers are paid by commission. This creates a conflict of interest as the broker gets paid on every transaction that he does for you, whether or not the transaction is in your best interest.)<\/p><p>(e) Financial Consultant, Financial Adviser, and the like have no legal meaning. (Almost everyone is a Vice President.)<\/p><p>(f) What is a Financial Planner, Certified Financial, or Chartered Financial Planner? (<u>Certified<\/u> Financial Planner and Chartered Financial Planner require additional tests of competency over and above the regular securities exams [Series 7 and maybe a Series 63] required to be a stockbroker.)<\/p><p><b>2. Who does he work for?<\/b><\/p><p>(a) Is his company a licensed securities broker regulated by the<br\/>SEC, the NASD, and your state&#39;s Blue Sky Commission? Is the company a member of a securities exchange such as the New York Stock Exchange? Do you care? (Most investors feel more comfortable buying investments from larger firms.)<\/p><p><b>3. Establish your investment objectives.<\/b><\/p><p>(a) Bear in mind there is a risk in every investment. The higher the potential return, the higher the risk. Things that sound too good to be true generally are.<\/p><p>(b) Do you want income, long term growth, liquidity? (Make sure your broker understands.)<\/p><p>(c) Are you willing to speculate? (Make sure your broker understands.)<\/p><p><b>4. Lean about the specific securities in which you invest. The key is: Do you understand what you are buying? (If you do not understand it &#8211; don&#39;t buy it.)<\/b><\/p><p>(a) Does the security fit your goals? (Short term trading does not meet the goals of the long term investor.)<\/p><p>(b) What is the relationship between the broker and\/or the company he works for and the company that issued the security you are investing in? (This may create a conflict of interest &#8211; watch out!)<\/p><p>(c) Is the security a bond, debenture, preferred stock, option, mutual fund or limited partnership? Is it a derivative or hybrid? (&quot;Sophisticated&quot; and &quot;speculative&quot; are dangerous words.)<\/p><p>(d) Is the investment registered with the SEC? Is it legally tradeable? How long after the purchase can you sell it? As a practical matter, will there be a <u>real<\/u> market for it? What market?<\/p><p><b>5. Look up your broker&#39;s complaint history at the NASD site. (See links.)<\/b><\/p><p>Law Offices of Steve A. Buchwalter<br\/>16133 Ventura Boulevard<br\/>Suite 600<br\/>Encino, CA 91436<br\/>(818) 501-8987<br\/>(800) 678-8185<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s your money. Do you have reason to trust him\/her and the company he\/she works for?  (a) What is his education? (b) What professional licenses does he have? Is he a licensed &#8220;registered representative&#8221; whose activities are regulated by the SEC &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":true,"_modified_date":"","_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false},"corporate_categories":[6521,6520],"class_list":["post-36845","corporate","type-corporate","status-publish","hentry","corporate_categories-litigation-disputes__adr","corporate_categories-litigation-disputes"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate\/36845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/corporate"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"corporate_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate_categories?post=36845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}