July 2023
Attorney Thomas Mauriello settled a FINRA arbitration claim against one of the largest financial services firms in the nation, in a case involving municipal bonds. The client, a high net-worth real estate developer, was seeking a short term, safe investment for a large sum of working capital needed within 6 to 12 months. Ignoring the potential interest-rate risk, the advisor invested all of the client’s funds into individual medium-term and long-term municipal bonds. When interest rates rose in 2022, the bonds dropped in value. Because of the advisor’s investment recommendation, the customer’s stated goal of preserving his capital had been ignored. This supposedly “safe” account lost over 10% of its value in just four months. Mr. Mauriello obtained a recovery of $300,000 on behalf of the client.