![Stockbroker Arbitration Results in
.5 Million Award](/images/articles2/Wall-Street-Sign-article.jpg)
The panel did not give a reason for its decision.
Meanwhile, FINRA announced it is investigating the marketing of exchange-traded notes. The announcement was made in March 2012, after one exchange-traded note experienced a loss of half its value in just two days. FINRA said it was investigating the events that surrounded the dramatic loss in value.
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Investors who feel they have been wronged by their stockbroker must usually file a FINRA arbitration against the broker and/or the broker's firm. Client contracts usually include a clause mandating arbitration rather than a lawsuit to settle claims, although class-action claims may be heard in the courts.
FINRA arbitrations are often considered preferable to the courts because the arbitration takes less time to hear, the finding is often binding and the losing side cannot file multiple appeals of the panel's decision. Unfortunately, though, as Singer notes in his Forbes column, the arbitration panel does not have to publish the reasons for its decisions, making it difficult for other claimants or investors to learn from the people who went before them.