The Investor's Lawyer - by Georgia Securities Lawyer Joel Beck

President signs Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008

Recently, President Bush signed new legislation into law dubbed the Worker, Retiree and Employee Recovery Act of 2008.  The bill contains some clean-up language to other laws relating to retirement accounts, but the significant feature is that persons age 70 1/2 years old or older, or their beneficiaries, will no longer have to take required annual distributions from retirement accounts.  Particularly in a down market, this may help investors.  The legislation also contains special provisions relating to employer plans that are in endangered or critical status.  Investors should consult their financial advisors and CPAs for information about how the legislation impacts them before making decisions on whether to withdraw or forgo required annual distributions. 

Investing in Turbulent Times

Investing in turbulent, or bad, times is really no different than investing in the good times - at least with respect to a couple of things.  While investment strategies may vary, some basic homework items remain constant.  As I've discussed before, check before you invest.  Make sure you have a good sense of who you're doing business with - check out the broker and the brokerage firm before you turn over your hard-earned money.

After that, you must stay involved and pay attention to what's going on.  Remember, its your money.  Get the details on what your broker recommends, check it out, and make sure you understand it.  And find out what's in it for them.

Check out a recent article at Forbes.com on Seven Financial Adviser Fibs.     

Arbitration Case Filings Up Significantly in 2008

According to statistics published by FINRA, the number of arbitration cases filed this year is up significantly over last year.  Through October 2008, FINRA reports 3,972 new cases being filed.  This compares to 3,238 cases filed in all of 2007.  Year to date, the increase represents a 49% percent increase from 2007 to 2008.

What's fueling the increase?  I believe that investors are paying more attention to the losses in their account, and to the conduct of the brokerage firm and representative, particularly as the market is down.  Further, there have been several product oriented cases as well, such as cases involving the Schwab Yield Plus fund, certain Morgan Keegan funds, etc.  I expect that we'll see even more cases filed in the last quarter of 2008, and in the first few quarters of 2009 as well.