Selling Away

If a broker sold you an investment that was not offered through their firm — often something that never showed up on your regular account statements — you may have been the victim of selling away. It is a violation of the rules brokers must follow, and the firm can often be held responsible for failing to catch it.

The Firm Was Supposed to Be Watching

Brokerage firms are required to supervise what their brokers sell. When a broker goes around the firm to sell you something on the side, the firm’s failure to detect and prevent it can make it accountable for your losses.

What Selling Away Looks Like

• Being sold an investment not offered or approved by the broker’s firm
• Writing a check directly to an outside fund, company, or the broker
• Investments that never appear on your firm account statements
• Private placements, promissory notes, or “special opportunities” pitched outside the firm

Signs of Selling Away

• You invested in something that never showed up on your brokerage statements
• You made the check out to a company or person, not your brokerage firm
• The broker described it as a private or exclusive opportunity
• The firm says it never knew about the investment