Hasta La Gadget!

A recent story in The New York Times tells you all you need to know about the mandatory arbitration process imposed on investors who use brokers.

Blatant misconduct

The story reported on the erratic behavior of Steve Wyatt, a top broker employed by Morgan Stanley in Mississippi. Mr. Wyatt had exhibited signs of erratic behavior, including sleeplessness, coming into the office in the middle of the night and trading client money “erratically.” During his five years of employment, his “problematic behavior and business patterns” were brought to the attention of Morgan Stanley’s compliance officers and supervisors “many times.”

His conduct had a devastating effect on the portfolios of his clients. They allegedly lost about half of their investments, aggregating almost $50 million. He was fired in 2012.

The Mississippi Secretary of State entered into a settlement with Morgan Stanley. It barred Mr. Wyatt and his immediate supervisor from the securities industry for life and required Morgan Stanley to establish a fund of $4.2 million to reimburse clients.

A process inherently biased

Since the settlement was a fraction of the losses, aggrieved investors commenced arbitration proceedings, as they were required to do in the account opening statements with Morgan Stanley. The arbitration process is administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which describes itself as ” an independent, not-for-profit organization authorized by Congress to protect America’s investors by making sure the securities industry operates fairly and honestly.”

The Board of Governors of FINRA is populated by members of the industry it’s supposed to regulate, including representatives from Merrill Lynch and Edward Jones, among others.

Think of this arbitration system this way: If you had a dispute with a funeral director, how would you feel if you were required to arbitrate it through a process administered by a funeral trade association?

Using its leverage

Given the sordid history of this matter, you would think the arbitrations would be a slam dunk for Mr. Wyatt’s clients. In fact, you might wonder why Morgan Stanley would not settle these cases and avoid the uncertainty, cost and expense of an arbitration.

Your assessment would ignore the ace Morgan Stanley had up its sleeve: The FINRA arbitration process is perceived by many to be biased in favor of the securities industry. Instead of settling these cases, Morgan Stanley is fighting them — hard. It alleges the clients were “negligent” for not monitoring their investments with Mr. Wyatt more closely and that the losses were caused by the financial crises.

One client, an 84 year old widow, placed her trust in Mr. Wyatt and in the company’s ability to supervise him. Morgan Stanley defended the arbitration she commenced, alleging she willingly signed up for an “aggressive portfolio” and should bear the responsibility for her losses.

The arbitrators tossed her a bone, and awarded her $150,000, despite evidence her losses totaled $700,000.

She was fortunate to receive any award.

The case for abolishing this process

William Galvin, the highly respected Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts testified before a congressional subcommittee on March 17, 2005. He correctly characterized FINRA’s arbitration process as follows:

“The term “arbitration” as it is used in these proceedings is a misnomer.
Most often, this process is not about two evenly matched parties to a dispute seeking the middle ground and a resolution to their conflict from knowledge, independence and unbiased fact finders, rather what we have in America today is an industry sponsored damage containment and control program masquerading as a juridical proceeding.”

One study found that 80 percent of arbitrators in these proceedings are male with an average age of 69.

Misleading investors

Morgan Stanley has no remorse. It’s spokesperson stated: “We take extremely seriously our responsibility for placing our clients’ interest first.”

The reality is quite different. As indicated in this study, Morgan Stanley, and other brokerage firms, profess to “put the interest of the clients first”, but disavow this obligation in arbitration proceedings. In order to be legally obligated to put the interest of clients first, Morgan Stanley would have to accept what is known as a “fiduciary” standard of care. The study quoted from its position in another arbitration as follows:

“There is no fiduciary duty where, as here, the client maintains a non-discretionary brokerage account.”

Lack of political will

To date, all efforts to legislate an end to mandatory arbitration have lacked the political will to get it done, despite the views of a former SEC Commissioner, the North American Securities Administrators Association and various consumer groups, including the AARP.

You can read more about the deficiencies in FINRA’s arbitration system, the lack of diversity of its arbitrators, unjust results of these proceedings and the inherent conflict of interest of arbitrators who “are reluctant to make big rulings against the industry because they won’t be asked back”, in this compelling blog.

Protect yourself

As an investor, you should know that your broker essentially has carte blanche to engage in wrongful conduct — with or without the knowledge of the brokerage firm — and, regardless of the merit of your claim, you’re unlikely to find justice before a FINRA panel.

There’s a simple way to avoid this fate. Don’t do business with any broker. Instead, invest yourself using low cost index funds available from fund families like Vanguard and Fidelity, use a robo-advisor like Betterment or Wealthfront, or use the services of a registered investment advisor (RIA). RIAs are required by law to act solely in your best interest and will confirm that obligation in writing. Most importantly, disputes with RIAs are not subject to FINRA’s mandatory arbitration process.

Don’t put yourself in a position where you can be victimized by your broker, and revictimized when you try to recover your losses.

Dan Solin is a New York Times bestselling author of the Smartest series of books, including The Smartest Investment Book You’ll Ever Read, The Smartest Retirement Book You’ll Ever Read and his latest, The Smartest Sales Book You’ll Ever Read.

The views of the author are his alone. He is not affiliated with any broker or advisory firm. Any data, information and content on this blog is for information purposes only and should not be construed as an offer of advisory services.

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Donald Trump recently called Hillary Clinton a “bigot,” saying that she is “selling [minority communities] down the tubes because she’s not doing anything for those communities.” Except for one thing: not only was he wrong, but she has the record to show her work in these communities.

As First Lady, Hillary advocated publicly for children and families, helping to pass the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which now covers more than 8 million children, helping reform the foster care and adoption system and advocating for the expansion of Medicaid to cover foster kids until they are 21. She pushed for the expansion of Head Start and advocated for quality child care and equal pay for women to help break down barriers for working parents.

In 1995, Hillary led the U.S. delegation at the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, declaring that “women’s rights are human rights and human rights are women’s rights.” Hillary made advancing the status of women and girls around the world a core part of U.S. foreign policy, working to bring down the barriers that stop women and girls from reaching their potential. She stood up against sex trafficking, expanded opportunities for women and girls in education and business and led the fight for a U.N. Security Council resolution to combat sexual violence against women and children in conflict zones.

As the Senator from New York, Hillary co-sponsored legislation to end racial profiling and fought to restore voting rights and expand programs that help people re-enter society after they have served time. As Secretary of State, Hillary was a champion for LGBT rights at home and abroad, fought for internet freedom, and rights and opportunities for women and young people around the globe.

And because of Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton, The Clinton Foundation and its affiliated Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), more than 11.5 million people in over 70 countries have access to lifesaving HIV/AIDS drugs at 90 percent lower cost, including more than 800,000 children.

So let’s discuss bigotry, Mr. Trump. A “bigot” is “a person who hates or refuses to accept the members of a particular group.” For example, a “bigot” would be someone who calls a judge “biased” because he is Mexican or someone who says that Mexicans immigrating to our country are “rapists” and “bringing crime.” A “bigot” would be someone who says that people of a certain religion should not be permitted entry into a nation.

Former President Bill Clinton said in 1993: “There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right in America.” I believe that this still holds true today.

One of the former President’s favorite stories is about Nelson Mandela, the late leader of South Africa. After his 27 years of imprisonment, Mandela invited his opponents to his presidential inauguration.

When Clinton asked Mandela how he could forgive them, he said, “I realize they could take everything from me except my mind and heart. Those things I would have to give away. And I decided not to give them away.”

Vote for who you want in November. But when you vote, vote with your mind and your heart – because no one can ever take either one away from you.

And if you vote with your mind and heart, your choice is clear. Your candidate is Hillary Clinton.

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Barack Nobama is at it again with handouts, and all the prisoners whose sentences he commuted will no doubt become dependent upon all their newfound agency. Hillary Clinton is already preparing for the debates, punching a giant slab of meat, running up the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and pretending to debate a giant slab of meat. And all the cool kids in the Freedom Caucus know that overthrowing Paul Ryan is the new cool quixotic agenda ― defunding Obamacare is soooooo 2012. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Tuesday, August 30th, 2016:

OBAMA COMMUTES 111 FEDERAL SENTENCES – Smash cut to 2018 when President Trump is trying to find the warden from “Shawshank Redemption” to run his Justice Department. Ryan Reilly: “President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 111 federal prisoners on Tuesday as part of an initiative aimed at shortening the prison stays of individuals incarcerated under the nation’s harsh drug laws. The White House said that the commutations brought Obama’s total for the month of August to 325, the most commutations granted in a single month in United States history. The total number of prisoners who met the administration’s criteria for clemency is believed to be around 1,500. So far, Obama has granted clemency to 673 individuals. Advocates have called on the administration to do much more.” [HuffPost]

THAT TIME DONALD TRUMP FOUGHT WITH BARRY MANILOW – Look out, ISIS. Cristian Farias: “In early 1994, [Trump] rose to defend [Atlantic City] against a surprising villain: Barry Manilow. The singer had just pulled out of a concert that was part of then Gov.-elect Christie Todd Whitman’s pre-inaugural festivities at the Atlantic City Convention Center, saying he didn’t want his show interpreted as an endorsement of the incoming Republican governor. Whitman’s team, scrambling after the last-minute diss, reached out to Trump, who was ready with a seemingly fair substitution: Singer Paul Anka was scheduled to play at the Trump Plaza, and Trump agreed to let him move across the street to appear at the convention center instead. Ticketholders for the Manilow show could either bask in the smooth sounds of Anka or receive a refund. But many of them were furious. Trump didn’t let Manilow off the hook so easily, either. In a little-known interview that aired on local TV, Trump ― with his then-wife Marla Maples standing beside him ― unloaded on the ‘Copacabana’ singer in a tirade that turned offensive enough for the station to censor several seconds.” [HuffPost]

Like HuffPost Hill? Then pre-order Eliot’s book, The Beltway Bible: A Totally Serious A-Z Guide To Our No-Good, Corrupt, Incompetent, Terrible, Depressing, and Sometimes Hilarious Government

TEAM HILLARY PSYCHOANALYZING TRUMP – “Get me CNN’s finest body language experts!” Patrick Healy and Matt Flegenheimer: “Hillary Clinton’s advisers are talking to Donald J. Trump’s ghostwriter of ‘The Art of the Deal,’ seeking insights about Mr. Trump’s deepest insecurities as they devise strategies to needle and undermine him in four weeks at the first presidential debate, the most anticipated in a generation. Her team is also getting advice from psychology experts to help create a personality profile of Mr. Trump to gauge how he may respond to attacks and deal with a woman as his sole adversary on the debate stage.They are undertaking a forensic-style analysis of Mr. Trump’s performances in the Republican primary debates, cataloging strengths and weaknesses as well as trigger points that caused him to lash out in less-than-presidential ways.” [NYT]

OH, LOOK, ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO OUST PAUL RYAN – We miss this heady days of battling over silverware in the House cafeterias. Matt Fuller: “Conservatives don’t have enough votes to oust Ryan (R-Wis.). But they say their coup movement shows his hold on the speakership is far more tenuous than he realizes. Denying Ryan re-election on the first ballot would undermine his political future and cast him as a conservative pariah, they say, and may give conservatives leverage to enact rules changes that would help them push their agenda for years. “If he loses the speaker election, he’s not going to be president,” one conservative member told The Huffington Post on Monday. Conservatives hold no illusion of preventing Ryan from remaining speaker (or, you know, becoming president), according to the eight Republicans HuffPost interviewed on Monday. That there is coup chatter at all, however, suggests Ryan’s relationship with conservatives is already fraying, less than a year into his speakership.” [HuffPost]

Remixing Ryan: “So we can certainly understand why Ryan would want to re-use his own Republican National Convention speech to hype his party in a cool video ― and why his mini-movie would totally avoid the man of honor at that convention. After all, Ryan wants the GOP to maintain control of the House (and he already has problems with his own members, some of whom want to take his job away). In short, he needs Republican voters to turn out. But that doesn’t mean Ryan should be allowed to have it both ways on Trump. The Huffington Post made this remix of his video to remind everyone of the guy this election is really about.” [HuffPost’s Jeffrey Young and Christine Conetta]

ASSUME GARLAND DEAD? Maybe not. Sam Levine: “Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, appears to have softened his stance on holding confirmation hearings for Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court…’I, myself, could not do that, based upon the letter that we sent, that the new president should make the appointment. And 52 senators, a majority of the Senate, right of that same position,’ he said. ‘If we have the election, and there was a majority of the Senate changed their mind about doing it in the lame duck, as opposed to January 20, I don’t feel that I could stand in the way of that. But I don’t think I can promote that idea,’ he continued.” [HuffPost]

HISTORY’S GREATEST GOVERNOR STILL INCREDIBLE– The guy who regularly answered the question, “what would’ve it been like if Carl Paladino won?” might bow out. Amanda Terkel: “Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) is in hot water for calling a Democratic legislator a ‘little son of a bitch, socialist cocksucker.’ The situation is so bad ― and members of his party are so mad at him ― that he said Tuesday he is considering resigningbefore the end of his term in 2018. (He later walked back that speculation.)  Republican leaders in the state met with the governor Monday to explore what ‘corrective action’ he can take, and one GOP legislator floated censuring him.” [HuffPost]

WELL, OK – Sam Levine: “Someone using an email address connected to Harold Bornstein, Donald Trump’s doctor, apparently doesn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to cash in on the GOP presidential nominee’s campaign. Bornstein wrote a letter in December saying Trump would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.” The doctor told NBC News on Friday that he had written the letter in five minutes while a limo waited outside. A Huffington Post reader pointed out that the letter mentioned a website that wasn’t actually registered until several months after the endorsement of Trump’s health was written, so I sent an email on Saturday afternoon to the Gmail address listed in the letter’s header.  Someone replied from the address a little after 1 a.m. on Sunday, saying he or she wanted money to talk. ‘325 per hour in advance,’ the person wrote.” [HuffPost]

WE’RE DE-BLACKLISTED (SORT OF)! – Hadas Gold: “The print pool rotation for covering Donald Trump will include outlets that his campaign has blacklisted. BuzzFeed, the Huffington Post, POLITICO and The Washington Post are among the blacklisted outlets that will be part of the pool rotation, which begins this week. BuzzFeed is the first outlet to act as official print pooler, through which reporters send out shared reports about Trump’s activities to the rest of the outlets on the pool rotation. ‘We just wanted to thank you for your patience over the past few weeks,’ reads an email sent to the Trump pool list, which will be managed by reporters from The New York Times and Time magazine. ‘But we are pleased to announce that after some start-and-stop negotiations with the Trump campaign, we are debuting our full print pool this week, starting with BuzzFeed today in Washington.’” [Politico]

LITTLE MARCO STILL HAS GRAND AMBITIONS – Sam Levine: “ Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Tuesday that he can’t commit to serving a full term in the Senate if voters re-elect him this year. ‘No one can make that commitment because you don’t know what the future is gonna hold in your life, personally or politically,’ Rubio told CNN. ‘I can commit to you this: That is that if I am running to be a U.S. senator, I am fully prepared to allow the U.S. Senate to be the last political office I ever hold.’ Rubio sought the GOP presidential nomination this year but dropped out of the race in March, shortly after losing the primary in his home state. During his presidential primary campaign, he said he wouldn’t seek a second Senate term or run for Florida governor in 2018. He broke his pledge in June, saying the stakes in the election were too high for him not to run. Republican leaders also reportedly urged him to launch a Senate campaign, fearing the party could lose Rubio’s seat to Democrats. Rubio, who was elected in 2010, has an awful Senate attendance record, which he had to defend on the presidential campaign trail.” [HuffPost]

BECAUSE YOU’VE READ THIS FAR – Here’s a kitten giving it its all

PETER THIEL’S PARENTS MUST BE SO PROUD – It must put the Republicans in a slightly awkward position to have one of its biggest presidential surrogates be such an icon in the trial lawyer community. “In the wake of Gawker.com’s downfall, a host of start-ups are rushing to bring litigation finance to Main Street with a business model that could have far-reaching ramifications for both investors and the legal system. Until the news broke that tech billionaire Peter Thiel was funding former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan’s suit against (now-defunct) gossip blog Gawker for outing him as gay nearly a decade ago, most people were unaware that third parties — traditionally, hedge funds — could bankroll a lawsuit against a person or business As a result, start-ups in the field of litigation-finance investment have gained prominence, with a simple pitch to investors: Put up as little as $5,000 to fund lawsuits, and make money.” [NBC News]

COMFORT FOOD

– 1991 high school fashion show captures the most tubular looks of the period.

– Super Mario World in Dominos.

– Vladimir Putin was arrested in West Palm Beach, in case you didn’t hear.

TWITTERAMA

@morninggloria: Rudy Guiliani Takes On Shonda Rhimes: ‘You Want Scandal, Honey, Come To New York! The Big Apple!’ (is dragged off by Applebee’s security)

@timothypmurphy: It is literally very funny that instead of Marco Rubio the GOP nominated a guy who thinks the president is named “Barry Soweto”

@MEPFuller: I find there’s a direct relationship between uber drivers not using AC and uber drivers driving badly.
I have a great brand why do you ask?

Got something to add? Send tips/quotes/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to Eliot Nelson (eliot@huffingtonpost.com) or Arthur Delaney (arthur@huffingtonpost.com).

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Another Syrian refugee swimmer is about to make a big splash in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Ibrahim Al-Hussein, a Syrian refugee swimmer who lost part of his right leg protecting his friend, is gearing up to compete at the Paralympic Games ― just one month after Syrian refugee swimmer Yusra Mardini made history as part of the Olympic Games’ first-ever refugee team.

The Paralympics, which begin Sept. 7, will also feature a refugee team for the first time. Al-Hussein, who now lives in Greece, is one of the team’s two members. The other is Shahrad Nasajpour, an Iranian who was granted asylum in the United States. Nasajpour has cerebral palsy and will be competing in discus.

“It’s not just a game for me,” Al-Hussein, 28, told the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, earlier this year. “It’s my life.” 

This year, more than 4,000 athletes with disabilities will compete in 22 sports at the Paralympics in Rio. The events aim to foster inclusion, and for the refugee athletes, that mission has an added layer: to raise awareness for the plight of the more than 65 million people who have been forcibly displaced worldwide. 

“The Independent Paralympic Team is a symbol of the strength and determination of all refugees with disabilities in overcoming significant odds,” Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said in a statement released last week. “Including a refugee team in the Paralympic Games also sends a strong message of support to all refugees and asylum-seekers with disabilities worldwide.”

Al-Hussein had big swimming dreams while growing up in Syria. His father was his coach, and Al-Hussein practiced swimming in the Euphrates River, according to UNHCR. He won a number of local and national swim meets. 

But his dreams were nearly dashed in 2013. When a friend was hurt in a bombing, Al-Hussein raced toward him to help and was injured as well. He lost part of his right leg, from his mid-calf down. 

He fled to Turkey, where he recovered for about a year and taught himself how to walk again. In 2014, he was on the move again, but this time he boarded an inflatable boat and headed to Greece.

He now commits three a days a week to swim training with ALMA, a Greek nonprofit that supports athletes with disabilities. He also belongs to a wheelchair basketball league that meets five times a week.

Al-Hussein also balances his rigorous training schedule with a demanding work schedule, putting in 10-hour overnight shifts at a café in a suburb of Athens.

In April, Al-Hussein carried the torch for the Olympics through a refugee camp in Athens as it made its way Rio. He will swim in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle events at the Paralympics.

Shahrad Nasajpour, who has declined to share the entirety of his story for personal reasons, will also be making history in Rio next month.

“It is an honor,” Al-Hussein said of the experience. “Imagine achieving one of your biggest dreams. Imagine that your dream of more than 20 years is becoming a reality.” 

Al-Hussein’s story follows a similar trajectory to that of fellow Syrian swimmer Mardini, who became a household name earlier this year. 

Mardini was trekking across the Mediterranean to Greece in an overloaded boat, when the vessel broke down. Mardini and another refugee jumped in the water and pulled the boat for three hours to safety. Her efforts helped save 19 people.  

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Most couples and individuals who comes into sex therapist Tammy Nelson’s office want to know the same thing: Is my sex life with my partner normal? 

“They want to know if they are having enough sex, the right kind of sex, if their partner wants too much sex,” Nelson, a sexologist and the author of The New Monogamy, said. “Sometimes, they’re worried that they should be doing something totally different in bed.”

In response, Nelson usually tells people the same thing.

“Forget about ‘normal.’ ‘Normal’ is a setting on the washing machine, nothing more. What’s most important is that you learn to have empathy for your partner and accept whatever their needs might be, even if they are different than your own,” she explained.

Below, Nelson and other sex therapists share the advice they give couples concerned about their sex lives (or lack thereof). 

Stop worrying about how often other couples are doing it. 

Forgot about keeping up with the Jones’ very active sex life: Each couple has a “norm” when it comes to sex and that’s what you should be concerned about, said Dawn Michael, a sexologist and the author of My Husband Won’t Have Sex With Me. 

“If a couple had sex three times a week for many years and it’s now down to once a week, the pattern has changed and the frequency has gone down,” she said. “We focus on that in our conversation.” 

But Michael also stresses that when it comes to sex, there is no magic number ― and most couples who say they’re getting it on all the time are fibbing. 

“A lot of couples will say they have sex three times a week, but from what I see in my private practice, that number does not correlate with the truth.”

What’s normal for you now won’t be what’s normal for you in a few years. 

What matters more than finding a nationwide average is determining how sexually satisfied you are at this point in your life, said Chris Rose, sex educator at the website Pleasure Mechanics.

“Your shared sex life is a constant navigation between the tides of your libido, your time and energy, and mutual desire to prioritize sex,” she said. “Frequent conversations about your sex life ― and increasing the amount of affectionate touch you share outside of the bedroom ― may actually be the most important factors in a long-term sexually satisfying relationship.”

Don’t lose hope if you’re the partner with the higher sex drive. 

Someone needs to maintain an interest in your sex life. Otherwise, you might end up in a dead bedroom situation, said Ian Kerner, a sex therapist and New York Times-bestselling author of She Comes First: The Thinking Man’s Guide to Pleasuring a Woman.

As he points out, sex isn’t always spontaneous; sometimes, kick starting your sex life requires focusing on arousal over orgasms and just enjoying the moment and the buildup. 

“I tell couples that for many people, sexual desire doesn’t emerge at the start of sex, but more toward the middle,” he said. “You need to commit to generating some kind of arousal (through kissing, making out, dancing, reading erotica or watching porn) that may lead to desire. Be willing to generate arousal and see where it goes.” 

If you’re the partner with the lower sex drive, determine if there’s a reason.

If you’re the partner who is less interested in sex, there’s no need to feel shame, said Celeste Hirschman, a sex therapist and the co-author of Making Love Real: The Intelligent Couple’s Guide to Lasting Intimacy and Passion. Desire discrepancy in relationships is more common than most people realize.

As Hirschman’s co-author Danielle Harel explains, if you want things to change, you have to be willing to deep dive into why you’re disinterested in sex. It could be that you’re experiencing physical and hormonal fluctuations and intercourse is painful ― or maybe you’re just tired of doing the same ol’ thing in the bedroom. 

“Sometimes, the lower sex drive partner might not be getting the kind of sex they want or they might be feeling too much pressure from their partner which makes them feel obligated,” Harel said. “Feeling obligated to have sex is definitely not sexy.”

Remember: Good sex can’t be quantified. 

At the end of the night, when you’re laying in bed with your partner, don’t stare at the ceiling and wonder if your sex life is “normal” compared to others. Be proactive: Reach out to your S.O. and talk about what both of you want in the bedroom, Nelson said. 

“Try new things,” she said. “Snuggle more, masturbate, negotiate an open relationship if you’re into that, but make sure you always talk about what is important to you,” she said. “Never silently seethe or hold resentment.” 

She added: “The secret to a satisfying sex life is not just getting the sex that you want, it’s learning how to give your partner what they want, too.” 

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