An investment has failed or fallen sharply in value. That may justify asking difficult questions, but the loss alone does not establish a legal claim against the adviser. The assessment must connect the service promised, the advice actually given, any proven breach and the loss alleged to result from it.
Hugh Raichlin Attorneys can assess civil and commercial disputes arising from advice and contractual obligations. The firm’s role here is legal evaluation, not recommending a replacement investment or guaranteeing recovery of a failed portfolio.
Reconstruct the position when the advice was given
Identify your objectives, financial needs, experience, tolerance for loss and the information supplied to the adviser. Record what you said about access to funds, time horizon and the importance of preserving capital. The recommendation must be assessed in its actual context, not only with knowledge of the later failure.
Obtain the mandate, risk assessment, record of advice, product documents and warnings. Establish whether the adviser recommended the product, carried out an instruction, managed assets or performed a different service. Each description can involve different duties and factual questions.
Distinguish the adviser from the product provider
The person who introduced an investment, its administrator, the issuer and a platform may not have identical responsibilities. A claim needs the correct legal entity and a clear explanation of its role. Check available authorisation information, but do not treat an authorised status as a guarantee of every product or recommendation.
The source article contrasts successful and unsuccessful advice claims. Its useful lesson is that outcome depends on proof: the investor’s instructions, the adviser’s conduct, the standard reasonably expected, causation and loss. This edition does not repeat historical compensation limits or imply that a similar product failure decides your case.
Build an evidence file before assigning blame
- The signed engagement documents and the recommendation or advice record.
- Your disclosed circumstances, risk assessment and relevant communications before committing.
- Product literature, application forms, warnings, fee and commission disclosures.
- Payment records, statements, withdrawals, distributions and any amounts recovered.
- The chronology of concerns, complaint correspondence and responses from the adviser or provider.
Keep inconvenient documents as well as helpful ones. A signed risk warning is relevant but does not necessarily answer whether the actual recommendation met the required standard. Equally, an assurance remembered years later needs to be tested against contemporary evidence.
Prove the connection between the advice and the loss
Identify what conduct is criticised and what a properly supported alternative course would have been. Then assess whether following the impugned advice caused the claimed loss. General dissatisfaction or a statement that “a competent adviser would have known” may not establish the necessary case.
Valuation and expert evidence may be needed. Separate invested capital, market movement, fees, withdrawals and later recoveries. Avoid presenting the highest historic portfolio value as the recoverable legal loss without analysis.
Select the appropriate dispute route
Depending on the parties and complaint, the FAIS Ombud or a court process may be relevant. Check the current jurisdiction, complaint prerequisites, limits and time requirements for the proposed route rather than relying on an old article’s figures.
The Ombud’s published complaint guidance asks complainants to prepare supporting documents such as the signed application, policy or product information and correspondence. A complaint should state what happened and the relief sought clearly. Do not assume an internal complaint or ongoing discussion automatically preserves every court claim or stops prescription.
Can an adviser rely only on a signed disclaimer?
The agreement and disclosures matter, but their effect depends on the applicable duties and facts. They should be assessed with the actual advice, instructions and recommendation process.
Should I accept a settlement before obtaining the full file?
Understand the amount, release of claims, confidentiality terms and treatment of other parties first. A settlement may resolve more than the immediate payment dispute.
Discuss the legal basis before committing to proceedings
Tell HRA when the advice was given, when the loss became apparent, the parties involved and any complaint already lodged. A preliminary legal assessment can identify the missing evidence and appropriate next step without promising that a poor investment result is recoverable.