Daytrading and investment accounts are becoming increasingly popular as technology makes them easier and easier to use. It is possible to set up an entire portfolio on your laptop or even your cell phone, and you do not need a personal broker. While investing money is a prudent long-term decision, it sometimes leads to large losses and debt. Bankruptcy can help in these situations.
Over the long run, stocks and bonds trend upwards and generally increase in value. While it is not a guarantee, diversified portfolios will generally increase at a steady rate over the period of years and decades. However, in the short term, investments can decrease in value. Sometimes by large amounts.
Also, more complex investment instruments have the potential to lose large amounts of money in a short period of time. This includes flash trading (or daytrading) and also shorting stocks. When a stock is “shorted” an investor is gambling that the value of the stock will drop, not increase. However, if that stock goes up in value they can be stuck with massive losses to cover that increase in value. Sometimes these losses are greater than their ability to cover them.
In these cases bankruptcy may be an option. Bankruptcy can oftentimes wipe out balances in investment accounts or discharge debts related to such accounts, which may include credit cards and personal loans used to fund the investment accounts.
This does not mean bankruptcy will discharge all investment debts. Creditors may object if they believe the bankruptcy filer committed fraud or deliberately took unnecessary risks. Large investment that may be scrutinized by the court and the United States trustees office. The circumstances of your investment history will be important.
It is important to speak to an experienced bankruptcy attorney to see if your investment debts can be discharged. I am happy to speak with you and give you a free consultation regarding your investment debts. Call us at 412-414-9366.
A bad run of investing should not ruin the rest of your financial wife. Call me to see if these debts can be eliminated.