Micah Hauptman, CFA’s Director of Investor Protection, recently spoke at a press conference about the need for state and federal securities regulators to restrict investment advisers' use of forced arbitration clauses in client agreements. Highlighting a lack of transparency and fairness in the current investment adviser arbitration process, especially as compared to FINRA's more investor-friendly procedures for broker-dealers, Hauptman called for reforms that would better protect investors from unfair practices and ensure access to justice when harmed. Hauptman also made the point that, “If an adviser uses forced arbitration clauses in ways that effectively deny a client’s ability to pursue justice and recover losses that they’ve suffered, the adviser is placing their interests ahead of the client’s, in violation of the adviser’s fiduciary duty.”