AN APPOINTMENT
AN APPOINTMENT
Binding, private resolution of investor and broker-dealer disputes through FINRA and AAA — without filing in Connecticut Superior Court.
Key Takeaways
Consumer arbitration is a binding, private process that resolves disputes between individual investors and the brokerage firms or registered representatives who managed their accounts, without filing in state court.
Investors ready to discuss a pending or potential claim can contact Perkins Group, LLC directly to confirm availability and procedure.
Jud Perkins, founder of Perkins Group, LLC, in Salem, Connecticut, serves as a consumer arbitration neutral with FINRA Dispute Resolution Services and the American Arbitration Association, administering structured proceedings for investors and financial industry participants across Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New York City.
Perkins Group, LLC resolves more than 85 percent of cases, and FINRA member firms are required by regulation to participate when a customer files a claim.
Investors who open brokerage accounts almost always sign agreements that waive their right to sue in court. The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy confirms that account-opening agreements between broker-dealers and their customers routinely include mandatory arbitration clauses that direct any dispute to FINRA’s forum rather than the state court system.
FINRA member firms are required to participate in that arbitration when a customer demands it — the firm cannot refuse.
Securities misconduct affects investors across every state in which Perkins Group, LLC operates. Investors in Connecticut’s Fairfield County communities — Stamford, Greenwich, Westport, and Norwalk — encounter disputes involving unsuitable investment recommendations, excessive trading, and misrepresentation of product risk at a high concentration, given the density of investment advisory firms in the region.
Rhode Island investors in Providence and Newport face similar exposure through regional broker-dealers and advisory firms.
Massachusetts investors in Boston’s financial district and surrounding communities generate claims tied to the state’s large concentration of mutual fund companies, venture capital firms, and registered investment advisers.
New York City investors encounter the full spectrum of securities disputes, given the city’s position as the center of the U.S. financial industry.
Securities disputes across all four jurisdictions are resolved through FINRA arbitration, not the state court system, and the quality of the neutral matters.
Perkins Group, LLC
Consumer arbitration through FINRA covers disputes between individual investors and the brokerage firms or registered representatives who managed their accounts.
The arbitration panel reviews evidence, hears testimony, and issues a binding written award — a decision that carries the force of a contract judgment and can be confirmed in the appropriate state court or enforced under the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.
Common dispute categories in consumer arbitration include:
1
The investor files a Statement of Claim with FINRA identifying the parties, describing the dispute in chronological order, and stating the monetary and non-monetary damages sought. FINRA assigns a case administrator and notifies the respondent firm.
2
Unauthorized trading occurs when a broker executes transactions in a customer's account without prior approval. Investors who discover unauthorized trades can pursue those claims directly through FINRA arbitration without filing in state court.
3
Churning refers to a pattern of excessive trading in a customer's account, designed to generate commissions rather than investment returns. FINRA arbitration panels review account statements, transaction logs, and turnover rates to evaluate churning claims.
4
Brokers who misrepresent the risks, returns, or liquidity of a financial product — or who omit material information a customer would need to make an informed decision — expose their firm to arbitration liability. Misrepresentation claims are among the most frequently filed categories in FINRA's dispute resolution forum.
5
Investors who work with registered investment advisers rather than broker-dealers may pursue disputes through AAA commercial arbitration, depending on the terms of their advisory agreement. Perkins Group, LLC holds an AAA panel membership and administers those proceedings as a neutral.
| Claim Type | Forum | Binding | Typical Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broker-dealer dispute | FINRA | Yes | 12 to 16 months |
| Investment adviser dispute | AAA | Yes | Varies by complexity |
| Multi-party securities claim | FINRA or AAA | Yes | 16+ months |
An arbitrator in a FINRA consumer proceeding is not a mediator or a judge. The arbitrator reviews the statement of claim, manages the discovery process, presides over evidentiary hearings, and issues a written binding award based on the facts and merits of the dispute.
FINRA requires all arbitrators to remain neutral, take an oath before the proceeding begins, and meet ongoing qualification standards — arbitrators who fail to meet those standards are removed from the panel pool.
Perkins’s 35-year project management background is directly relevant to consumer arbitration involving real estate investment products, development-linked securities, and project finance instruments — dispute categories in which a neutral with operational experience evaluates the facts differently than one with only a legal background. The firm brings that industry fluency to every proceeding it administers.
Perkins Group, LLC holds an active neutral panel membership with the following organizations: American Arbitration Association (AAA), ADR Center of Connecticut, FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority), Rhode Island Courts, and New York City Courts.
FINRA consumer arbitration follows a structured process administered under FINRA's Code of Arbitration Procedure for Customer Disputes. Investors filing a claim should understand each stage of the process before it begins.
1
The investor files a Statement of Claim with FINRA that identifies the parties, describes the dispute in chronological order, and states the monetary and non-monetary damages sought. FINRA assigns a case administrator and notifies the respondent firm by mail or designated email.
2
The brokerage firm or registered representative named as the respondent receives the Statement of Claim and submits a formal answer. FINRA member firms are required to participate — a registered firm cannot decline to arbitrate a customer claim.
3
FINRA generates identical lists of potential arbitrators and provides both parties with an Arbitrator Disclosure Report for each candidate, detailing employment history, education, and prior awards. Both parties rank and strike candidates. Claims decided by a single arbitrator use a public arbitrator unaffiliated with the securities industry. Three-arbitrator panels allow parties to select an all-public panel under FINRA's Code of Arbitration Procedure for Customer Disputes.
4
The arbitrator holds an initial prehearing conference with party representatives to address procedural matters, discuss the mediation option, and establish the hearing schedule.
5
Parties exchange documents and gather information in preparation for the evidentiary hearing. Discovery in FINRA arbitration is more limited than in state court litigation, thereby reducing preparation time and costs for both sides.
6
Evidentiary hearing. Parties and their representatives meet in person to present evidence, examine witnesses under oath, and argue the merits of the claim. Hearings take place at the FINRA regional location nearest to where the claimant lived at the time of the dispute.
7
The arbitrator issues a final, binding written award. FINRA arbitration awards are enforceable in state court under each jurisdiction's arbitration statutes. Awards are rarely overturned — challenges must be filed within three months under the Federal Arbitration Act, and grounds for vacating an award are limited to fraud, corruption, evident partiality, or arbitrator misconduct.
Unresolved securities disputes carry compounding financial exposure — contact Perkins Group, LLC at (860) 204-9168 to discuss your claim and the appropriate forum.
Investors who have already filed a FINRA arbitration claim can request mediation at any time before the evidentiary hearing concludes — FINRA calls this a straight-in mediation request.
Mediation and arbitration serve different functions, and choosing between them depends on whether the investor needs an imposed decision or a negotiated resolution.
FINRA arbitration produces a binding award. The arbitrator decides the outcome regardless of whether both parties agree. Arbitration suits are used for disputes where compromise is unlikely or where the investor needs a final, enforceable decision against a firm that has declined to settle.
FINRA mediation is voluntary and non-binding. A mediator — who must have experience in the securities field under FINRA’s qualification requirements — facilitates negotiation between the parties without deciding the outcome.
Mediation gives both sides control over the resolution and typically costs less than completing the full arbitration process. Investors considering a negotiated resolution for a commercial contract dispute outside the securities context can explore mediation as a separate track.
Perkins Group, LLC handles both FINRA arbitration and FINRA mediation as a qualified neutral, so investors and financial industry participants across Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New York City can engage the firm at either stage of the dispute resolution process.
Consumer arbitration in the securities industry is a specialized process. Brokerage firms enter FINRA arbitration with two structural advantages over individual investors: institutional knowledge of arbitrator selection patterns developed over hundreds of prior cases, and legal counsel specifically prepared for securities proceedings. The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy recommends that investors consider legal representation before filing, noting that brokerage firms will almost always be represented by counsel.
Investors should verify the disciplinary history of their broker or brokerage firm through FINRA BrokerCheck before and during any dispute.
State securities regulators in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New York regulate the licensing of registered representatives and investment advisers operating in their jurisdictions, but state regulators do not pursue individual recovery actions on behalf of investors — only a FINRA arbitration panel or a court with jurisdiction can order the return of lost funds.
Parties involved in non-securities construction disputes or general commercial contract claims should note that those matters follow separate AAA procedural tracks with different fee structures and timelines.
Common Questions
FINRA consumer arbitration is a binding dispute resolution process that resolves claims between individual investors and the brokerage firms or registered representatives who managed their accounts. Investors in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New York City can file a FINRA arbitration claim when a dispute involves the business activities of a FINRA member firm or one of its registered brokers.
Most investors must arbitrate disputes with brokers because account-opening agreements contain mandatory arbitration clauses. Under FINRA's Code of Arbitration Procedure for Customer Disputes, a customer can also compel a FINRA member firm to arbitrate even without a pre-existing arbitration agreement.
FINRA consumer arbitration takes approximately 12 months if the case settles and approximately 16 months if the case proceeds to a full evidentiary hearing, based on FINRA Dispute Resolution Services' 2024 timelines. Multi-party and complex claims typically take longer.
Investment losses arising from unsuitable recommendations, unauthorized trading, excessive trading or churning, misrepresentation of product risk, and omission of material facts are eligible for FINRA arbitration. The dispute must involve the business activities of a FINRA member brokerage firm or one of its registered representatives.
An investor can request FINRA mediation at any time before or during arbitration, including after a claim has been filed. FINRA mediation is voluntary — both parties must agree — and does not delay a pending arbitration unless both sides agree to a stay of proceedings.
FINRA generates identical lists of arbitrator candidates for both parties, along with an Arbitrator Disclosure Report for each candidate. Both parties rank and strike candidates. Single-arbitrator cases use a public arbitrator unaffiliated with the securities industry. Three-arbitrator panels allow parties to request an all-public panel.
A FINRA arbitration award is enforceable in state court under each jurisdiction's arbitration statutes, including in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New York. A party seeking to challenge an award must file within three months under the Federal Arbitration Act, and the grounds are limited to fraud, corruption, evident partiality, or arbitrator misconduct.
Yes. Perkins Group, LLC holds AAA panel membership and administers investment adviser arbitration as a neutral, in addition to FINRA consumer arbitration. Investors whose disputes arise under an investment advisory agreement should contact Perkins Group, LLC at (860) 204-9168 to confirm the appropriate forum.
Securities disputes demand a neutral who understands the financial products behind the claim — contact Perkins Group, LLC to discuss your matter.
