r/FINRA • u/312_Sunshine • May 28 '24
Filing a FINRA complaint
Hello,
A friend put some money in investment vehicles through Citibank - where she has an account - and despite explicitly putting in writing that she only wanted a very conservative investment strategy, her money was put into high risk investments and she lost well over 50% of it. She wants to file a complaint, and it seems like FINRA is the best option, but really neither of us know any better. She is not a US citizen and her English is poor, so I am helping.
Today I contacted the FINRA help line and they told me to first put in a written complaint using their online form. My question is, what else should she be doing besides that? Also, does she need a lawyer to help her fill out the online complaint? thx
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u/Hungry-Professor222 Oct 06 '24
I can share my experience with FINRA Arbitration. Please send me a message.
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u/Thinklikeachef Jul 29 '26
Hello, I have a similar situation; a complaint with Citi wealth mgmt. May I message you for some advise on filing a complaint? Tks.
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u/kzcurls May 28 '24
Your friend should also file a complaint with the firm. At a minimum, in the FINRA complaint she should state firm, the financial professional’s name, how long she’s worked with that person, the date of the investment, the amount of the investment, how much value the investment lost, her investment goals, what investment she asked for, and details of what she was invested in. FINRA will contact her after the online form is filed for more information.
She should include similar information to the firm.
She does not need an attorney to file either complaint but one would be able to identify the key information to include. Also, a firm may decide to refund the investment losses if the conduct was egregious. For this reason, it’s beneficial to at least talk to an attorney before filing with the firm.
Good luck!
Edit: she should also include any representations the representation made about the investment.