Investment Adviser Misconduct Attorney
A registered investment adviser owes you a fiduciary duty, the highest standard the law imposes. When that duty is breached, the loss is not a market outcome. It is a violation. Jorge Riera holds advisers accountable for investors nationwide.
Get a Free Case ReviewYou Were Told an Adviser Worked for You. The Records Often Say Otherwise.
Investment advisers present themselves as fiduciaries, trusted professionals who put your interests first. Most do. But when an adviser steers you toward what pays them, hides a conflict, charges for management that never happens, or fails to supervise the people acting in their name, the trust you placed in them becomes the heart of the case.
Adviser misconduct is different from broker misconduct in a way that matters. The fiduciary standard is higher than the suitability standard, and the documentary trail, the Form ADV, the advisory agreement, the disclosed and undisclosed compensation, is where the breach is usually proven. Jorge reads those documents the way a forensic accountant does.
Many advisers today are dually registered, acting as a broker in one moment and an adviser the next. Which hat they were wearing changes the standard that applies, and it is one of the first things Jorge establishes in a case.
Strict deadlines apply. Limitation periods, including FINRA's six-year eligibility rule where arbitration applies, can bar a claim before you realize you have one. The sooner your accounts are reviewed, the more options remain open to you.
The Forms Adviser Misconduct Takes
Each of these is its own claim, with its own proof and its own standard. Select the one that fits your situation, or speak with Jorge if you are not sure which applies. Many cases involve more than one.
Breach of Fiduciary Duty
An adviser who put their own interests ahead of the duty they owed you.
Learn more →Investment Adviser vs FINRA Arbitration
Why the forum and the standard differ when an adviser, not a broker, is at fault.
Learn more →Dually Registered Professional Misconduct
When the same person acts as broker and adviser, and the hat they wore changes the rules.
Learn more →Failure to Supervise
A firm that failed to oversee the adviser acting in its name.
Learn more →Securities Negligence
Carelessness with your account that fell below the professional standard of care.
Learn more →Florida Chapter 517
State securities remedies available to Florida investors under Chapter 517.
Learn more →Elder Financial Exploitation
Vulnerable investors targeted or taken advantage of by a trusted adviser.
Learn more →The Duty Your Adviser Owed You
Adviser misconduct claims turn on a higher standard than broker cases. Understanding which obligation applies is the difference between a weak theory and a precise one.
Registered investment advisers owe a fiduciary duty of care and loyalty. They must act in your best interest, disclose material conflicts, and avoid putting their compensation ahead of your outcome. This standard is higher than the one that governs brokers.
An adviser must fully and fairly disclose conflicts of interest, including how they are paid and any incentive to recommend one product over another. Undisclosed compensation and self-dealing leave a documentary trail in the Form ADV and the advisory agreement.
When a professional is both a broker and an adviser, the applicable standard depends on the capacity in which they acted. Establishing which hat they wore at the moment of the recommendation often decides the case.
Florida's securities statute provides remedies that can run alongside federal claims for investors harmed in the state, including rescission and recovery against those who materially aided a violation.
A Former SEC Enforcement Lawyer Who Reads an Advisory File the Way a Forensic Accountant Does
For more than a decade, Jorge served as Senior Enforcement Counsel at the SEC's Miami Regional Office, where adviser conduct and the Investment Advisers Act were daily work. He knows how conflicts are buried in disclosure documents and how panels evaluate a breach of fiduciary duty.
As a CPA and CGMA, he reads the Form ADV, the advisory agreement, and the compensation arrangements as a trained accountant. He identifies where the adviser's incentives diverged from your interests, calculates the harm, and builds the case before any outside expert is retained.
And as one of only seven Board-appointed Public Members of FINRA's National Arbitration and Mediation Committee, he understands the forum where many of these disputes are resolved at a level few practitioners can match. He represents investors only, never advisers or firms, on a contingency basis. No recovery, no fee.
Case costs and expenses are payable from any recovery as provided in the written engagement agreement.
Before You Call
Hold Your Adviser to the Standard They Owed You
Jorge reviews every inquiry personally. The consultation is free, and if he takes your case, you pay nothing unless he recovers.
Get a Free Case ReviewFormer SEC Senior Enforcement Counsel · FINRA NAMC Public Member · Attorney, CPA, CGMA · Representing Investors Nationwide