In October 2010, I called our investment company which holds our gold fund. I had the phone on speaker so my wife could hear. I told the phone rep that we wanted to sell our funds, and I had our s.s. numbers and account numbers. She then put me on hold. I then was talking to my wife that gold prices were to go down quick. The phone rep heard this and said that wasn't true. Since the rep said this, my wife said she should know what she is talking about, and said she did not sell our funds and walked out. Gold then was just under $2000, our funds were at $54. Now gold is $1200, and our fund is at $13. I do know that the fund company records their phone calls. Around June of 2011, I called the fund company, the new rep said she should had never said that, and said she now does not work there.
There are more facts that should be known in addressing this issue, such as whether or not this type of high risk investment was consistent with your objectives and risk tolerance. However, pursuing this matter based solely upon the representation that the representative believed that the price of gold would go up would be difficult.
Whatever you do, you should act quickly. If the advice not to sell took place in October 2010, you could potentially be facing statute of limitation issues, regardless of how meritorious your case is. If you wait too long to bring a claim, the statutes of limitation may prevent you from recovering at all.
If you were dealing with a licensed financial advisor and want to bring a claim against her and her firm, then you'll probably end up suing them in FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) arbitration.
You should talk with an attorney who regularly handles FINRA arbitration. I'd suggest visiting www.piaba.org to find names of attorneys who can help you. PIABA is an organization of attorneys dedicated to representing the interests of investors. I'd be happy to answer further questions. Good luck!
Sorry to hear of this. Unfortunately this is an all too often heard story with these gold and other precious metals dealers. You are lucky that you live in Indiana because it appears that your state's statutes of limitations for fraud is 6 years once you know there is an issue. It sounds like you knew at least in 10/2010 of the issue so find a local attorney to assist you. If the gold dealer was registered with FINRA then you also have a 6 year time period in most cases and you can find a lawyer in whatever state you'd like who can assist (in most cases). Good luck!
There are lots of precious metals scams out there, primarily run out of South Florida where people purport to sell the metal to you but there is no ownership by anyone. Depending on what your "fund" is, you may be looking at pursuit of a variety of options. A commodities litigator can assist.
I have read the answers of Messrs. Pederson, Neuman, Savage, and Cornish. They all give good advice but I suggest that you immediately go to a certified financial planner or a recommended broker with a reputable National broker dealer in your immediate geographical area to obtain an independent, unbiased second opinion on the viability of your gold investment and the proper course you should take to handle your investments going forward. Do so quickly to avoid statute of limitations issues.
In answer to your inquiry - "Do we need a securities attorney?" The answer is, maybe. Your inquiry does not specify exactly what sort of gold fund you were invested in. You may need an attorney who practices in the area of commodities fraud or securities fraud.
It appears that an important issue here is whether it was reasonable for you and your wife to rely on the statement of the representative. The losses that you suffered appear to be approximately 40%. However, the price of gold did not decline 40% overnight. As such, the question is whether is was reasonable for you to continue to rely on the representation given a gradual decline.
I would suggest that it would be prudent to contact a securities and/or commodities fraud attorney to discuss the merits of your case. As the other attorneys in this forum have advised, you should do so expediently given that considerable time has passed since the representation was made in October 2010 given that certain statutes of limitation could limit your ability to recover your losses.
