📣 Shocking $415 Million Loss: Trader Sues Broker for Risky Advice

posted  4 Oct 2024
Photo - Shocking $415 Million Loss: Trader Sues Broker for Risky Advice
Canadian trader Christopher DeVocht has filed a lawsuit against RBC Dominion Securities and its financial advisors, demanding compensation for his $415 million loss (the peak value of his account). DeVocht claims the firm gave him poor investment advice and executed high-risk trades, which ultimately wiped out his entire portfolio.  

Initially, DeVocht approached the company seeking stable returns with low risk to preserve the wealth he had accumulated in just a year of trading Tesla stocks and options. By the end of 2019, his initial capital was around $88,000, and by mid-2020, it had surged to $26 million.  

RBC Dominion opened a margin account for DeVocht, offering substantial loans to amplify his returns. However, the lawsuit alleges that this strategy led to a financial catastrophe when Tesla stocks crashed, alongside the broader market in 2022. To repay loans from his margin account, DeVocht was forced to sell all his shares.  
But for the defendants’ inadequate advice ... the plaintiffs would have preserved a substantial portion of their wealth and implemented financial planning that would not have resulted in the loss of their entire net worth
the lawsuit states.
This case has ignited debate within the crypto community, with critics pointing out that regulators often claim such incidents occur primarily in the crypto market, yet stock market investors face similar risks. Canada, known for its active regulation of the crypto industry, has imposed stringent rules that have complicated the operations of crypto exchanges.