November 20, 2008
This rule is one in a string of many very bad jokes on the investing public by a corrupt litigation forum run by the securities industry for the securities industry. As Chairman Cox was roughly quoted as saying, "This industry is incapable of regulating itself." It is also incapable of treating its customers in a fair and equitable manner.
FINRA arbitration routinely defrauds public customers a second time after they are defrauded by one of its member firms. The customer losses 100% of the time. The only dispute heard is over how badly the cutomer will lose. On average, 40% of customers will be able to recover 20% of their damages. The SICA study showed slightly more than half of those would feel better if the panel would tell them why they are further abusing them. Presumably,the other half already know why they were abused a second time. Its becaue FINRA, recruits, trains, and rewards arbitrators for gentle treatment of its members regardless of how bad their conduct. An arbitrator showing sympathy for a defrauded arbitrator won't get much work.
Paying a corrupt arbitrator $400 to tell a twice defrauded customer (s)he didn't believe him or her and, "You can't tell me you didn't know it was risky," and all the other excuses they use to ignore the law and the facts is a sham. As long as FINRA-DR is answerable solely to its member firms with the Commission an ineffectual rubber stamp, it will not change its conduct. Charging customers ever increasing amounts of money for increasingly biased results won't change that.