SERVICES OFFERED BY MACGOLD DIRECT INC TO “DO IT YOURSELFERS” WHO HAVE LOST MONEY IN THE STOCK MARKET THROUGH NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN AND WHO WANT TO RECOVER THEIR STOCK MARKET LOSSES QUICKLY AND INEXPENSIVELY.
Unless you are a former securities lawyer, trying to recover your investment losses by navigating (or trying to navigate) your way through the maze of security rules and regulations, industry standards, practice and procedures without knowing what to do, will be like trying to drive a car blindfolded. It is an accident waiting to happen.
The only way how you can recover your investment losses by yourself, is to get expert professional help and guidance every step of the way, and that’s where we can help you. In fact that’s all we do..
Some of the things that MacGold will teach you are:-
- The rules, regulations and industry standards of the securities industry to enable you to determine whether your investment losses were caused by your financial advisor and whether you have an enforceable and winnable claim against both your financial advisor and your brokerage house. (You can recover your investment losses from both your financial advisor and your brokerage house.)
- What factors you should take into account in calculating your investment losses including your lost opportunity costs, interest and other losses.
- How to identify your financial advisors and your brokerage house’s mistakes, negligence and other wrongful acts.
- The exact procedure to be followed in recovering your investment losses.
- The rules and procedures for filing a claim, prosecuting a claim, referring your claim first to your brokerage house and if it’s not settled then to the ombudsman for Banking Services and Investment (OBSI). (If your brokerage house is owned by a bank, your claim must first be referred to the bank’s internal ombudsman, and if not settled, then to OBSI.) Then, if your claim is still not settled, and you qualify, you can refer your claim to arbitration. (Arbitration is a procedure where an independent arbitrator, after hearing the evidence of your financial advisor and yourself, plus witnesses, decides who is responsible for your losses and how much your losses are. The arbitration process is full of twists and turns and procedures and rules, one of which is the discovery process (which very few investors understand). Discovery is a vital part of the arbitration process. We can teach you exactly what to do, what documents to request from the other side and what documents you have to or do not have to, disclose to the other side. It’s a tricky process but we will help you through it.
- How to determine whether your investments were suitable in terms of your investment objectives and risk profile. This is done by classifying and categorizing your investments into different categories such as speculative, aggressive, conservative and preservation of principal, and then matching them up against your investment objectives and risk tolerance levels, to see if they fit. If there is no fit, they were not suitable, and you can claim for any losses you incurred, because of such unsuitable investments.
- MacGold can brief and prepare you for the interview with your brokerage house, the bank ombudsman and/or the OBSI, so that at the interview you don’t say anything that may be prejudicial to your claim and destroy it. This very important because if you do say the wrong thing or allow words to be put into your mouth, or allow words to be taken out of context, your claim could fail.
- MacGold teaches you how to get the investment loss recovery system to work in your favour and give you an edge.
- MacGold explains the positive and negative aspects of referring your claim to the ombudsman, as well as how you can turn a negative into a positive. (See the Remember This icon on this website to find out what the negative aspects are)
- We can perform, if you wish, a detailed and in-depth forensic financial audit into the circumstances giving rise to your investment losses to see if you have a winnable claim. We do this by first considering your investment objectives, your risk tolerance levels, your previous investment knowledge and experience, your financial situation and other important personal information. We then track the history of each and every one of your investments and the circumstances surrounding the buying and selling of each such investment, to determine whether the investment was appropriate and suitable for you, and whether your financial advisor is responsible for your losses. The results of such audit is encapsulated into a detailed and itemized report, which may be used to corroborate your claim when submitting it to your brokerage house, the bank ombudsman (if applicable), OBSI, or for the purposes of any subsequent action that you may wish to take, (such as arbitration, mediation or litigation).
- MacGold has had over 15 years experience in the investment loss recovery process and over the years we have learnt what various defences and arguments financial advisors and their brokerage employers usually raise. Because of our experience, we teach you how to defeat such defences and arguments even before they are raised. ( Its always easier to prepare a claim, knowing beforehand what the other side is going to say) This vital information is available to our clients as part of the investment loss recovery process, and will give you an edge.
- We help you prepare a Letter of Complaint to the brokerage house setting out the essential facts of your case and excluding allegations of an evidentiary nature. ( Most burnt investors put in too much information in this letter and often make admissions that prejudice or destroy their claims. It is important for you to know what to include and what to omit in such letter, so that you do not give away your entire case at this early stage.) From experience we know what defences and excuses are often raised by brokerage houses in their reply to letters of complaint. We help you draft the letter of complaint in such a way as to pre-empt such defences and excuses, and give you an edge.
- We prepare and brief you for the interview with the compliance department of your brokerage house.
- We teach you how to negotiate a settlement with your brokerage house, and if you wish we can represent you at such settlement negotiations.
- We teach you how to consider any settlement proposed by your brokerage house.
- If your claim is not settled with your brokerage house, we help you prepare a detailed and itemized letter of complaint to OBSI. This letter is more detailed than before, because it’s confidential and cannot be used against you in subsequent proceedings.
- We prepare and brief you for the in-depth interviews with the bank ombudsman of the bank that owns your brokerage house and /or OBSI. This is important so that during such interview you do not say something that could destroy your case, like for example becoming confused and saying something you don’t mean, or allowing words to be put into your mouth, or be taken out of context. Going into such an interview unprepared and not properly prepped is dangerous and can destroy your chances of success.
- We can, if requested, be present when such interviews take place in order to protect you, and screen the questions to ensure that irrelevant, misleading and inappropriate questions are not asked.
- We explain to you the meaning of any decisions made by your brokerage house, bank ombudsman and/or OBSI on the merits of your claim.
- We help you consider any offers of settlement and can if requested help you with settlement negotiations, or even represent you at such settlement negotiations.
- We help you to decide whether to accept the ombudsman’s decision and recommendations or whether you should take your claim further.
- If the ombudsman makes a recommended suggestion of settlement, which is unacceptable to you, we teach you how to renegotiate to try to get a better settlement.
- We help you with the arbitration process from start to finish including: an explanation of the rules and procedures of arbitration, preparation and pagination of a book of documents, help in selecting an arbitrator, help in the discovery process ( i.e. telling you what documents the brokerage house must disclose such as their internal rules and policies manuals, your brokers private notes, telephone calls and meetings with you, prospectuses of various investments plus numerous other documents, and what to do if they refuse, as well as what documents you should and shouldn’t disclose)
- We help you in preparing for the arbitration hearing and make suggestions as to what witnesses should be called. We can also take witness statements for you.
- If you need an expert witness for the arbitration hearing, we can find one for you to testify on your behalf.
- If you wish we can represent you at the arbitration hearing from start to finish. The arbitration processes and procedures are so complex that without help, the average investor has little or no chance of success.
Help, guidance and advice is always available to you, at all times on an “as and when requested” basis, so that you always have someone to talk to. Consequently you will never feel abandoned during the entire investment loss recovery process. We are with you every step of the way.
WITH OUR HELP YOU CAN TILT THE ODDS OF A SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME OF YOUR INVESTMENT LOSSES, IN YOUR FAVOUR