Investor Ann De Jong of Las Vegas told her Wells Fargo advisors that she didn't want to gamble with her savings and instead wanted them invested conservatively.
When she lost about $41,000, or 6%, of the portfolio due to some equity positions, the emergency-room physician filed a complaint with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
The FINRA panel ruled in late August that Wells Fargo must pay her back — in a decision that seems to be the first case of a client citing Nevada's new fiduciary rule in her complaint, according to a report in Friday's Wall Street Journal. The rule has yet to be finalized.
"It was my life savings. It was a nightmare," De Jong told the paper.
Her FINRA award included compensatory damages of $40,851.40 plus interest and costs of $600. And it came about nine months after it was filed.
In response, a Wells Fargo spokeswoman said in a statement: "The company is disappointed with the results of this matter. As is consistent with FINRA arbitration awards, the award does not provide a basis for its conclusion."