Thailand’s American community is older, settled, and living almost entirely on money that stays in the United States — Social Security, pensions, and IRAs held at US brokerages. The twelve-hour gap is the defining feature of the relationship with that money. A broker who calls at 9 a.m. Central is calling you at 9 p.m.; a trade confirmation lands while you sleep; a problem you would have caught in an afternoon in Phoenix can run for a week in Chiang Mai.
What goes wrong in Thailand
Three patterns we see from Thailand.
- 01
Unauthorized and discretionary trading
Distance and time difference make it easy for a broker to trade first and explain later — or never. If your statements show activity you did not approve, or a pattern of trading that generated commissions while your balance fell, that is potentially churning or unauthorized trading, and it is one of the most common claims we bring.
- 02
Account restrictions with no workable alternative
Several large US firms restrict or close accounts once a Thai address is on file. Being told to “transfer out within 60 days” when few firms will accept a Thailand resident is not a neutral event — it can force liquidations, tax consequences, and a scramble into whatever product the next salesperson offers.
- 03
The “offshore” pitch
Expats in Thailand are regularly solicited by advisors selling offshore bonds, insurance-wrapped portfolios, and unregistered funds. Many of these sellers are not FINRA members and some are not licensed anywhere. Before you sign anything, or if you already have, we can tell you who actually regulates the firm and whether a US claim is possible.
Working with Birmingham from Thailand
Your hours, not ours.
Bangkok is twelve hours ahead of Birmingham, so we schedule calls for your morning and our evening, or your evening and our morning — whichever suits you. Documents move through the FINRA portal and secure email at any hour. FINRA arbitration is a document-driven, national forum. Your claim is filed electronically, discovery is exchanged electronically, and hearings are routinely conducted by video. Richard Frankowski has represented investors in FINRA arbitration from his Birmingham office for over twenty-five years — most of them people he first met by phone.
Thailand
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The claims behind the patterns
Each pattern is a recognized FINRA claim.
- 01 “They found out I moved, and now my account is frozen.”
- 02 “I needed income and safety. He sold me something I couldn’t sell.”
- 03 “I was twelve hours away, and the trading never stopped.”
- 04 “I rolled over everything the month I retired. That was the mistake they were waiting for.”
- 05 “He said he specialized in Americans abroad. I never checked who regulated him.”
Guides
Guides for Americans in Thailand
- My US Brokerage Is Closing My Account Because I Live Abroad Got the closure letter? What the deadline means, how to stop a forced sale, how to transfer in kind, and when the closure becomes a claim. 7 min read
- How to Keep a US Brokerage Account While Living Overseas Address, residency, the “we no longer serve your country” letter, and how to move an account without a forced sale — for Americans abroad. 7 min read
- FINRA Arbitration From Overseas: Start to Award The whole FINRA arbitration process for an investor abroad — filing, the answer, arbitrators, discovery, mediation, the hearing, and getting paid. 8 min read
- Video Hearings in FINRA Arbitration: What Actually Happens How a FINRA arbitration hearing works over video for an investor abroad: who is on screen, testimony and exhibits, time zones, and preparing your room. 7 min read
- The FINRA Six-Year Eligibility Rule, Explained for Expats FINRA Rule 12206 bars claims six years after the event. What counts as the event, why state limitations periods may be shorter, and why waiting hurts. 6 min read
- How to Read Your Brokerage Statements for Churning Turnover ratio, cost-to-equity, and confirmations you never approved: a plain guide to finding unauthorized trading and churning in your statements. 8 min read
- Offshore and Expat Specialist Advisors: Who Regulates Them How to check whether an “expat specialist” advisor is registered — BrokerCheck, the SEC’s IAPD, host-country regulators — and what unregistered means. 7 min read
- Selling Away: When a Side Deal Is the Firm’s Problem Your broker sold you something that never appeared on a statement. FINRA Rules 3280 and 3110 explain when the brokerage firm is responsible anyway. 7 min read
How do we handle a twelve-hour time difference?
We set a standing window that works for you — usually 7–9 a.m. or 7–9 p.m. Thailand time. Everything else moves by email and the case portal. In twenty-five years the time zone has never been the reason a case did not proceed.
If the hearing is by video, what time will it be?
FINRA panels set hearing schedules with the parties. Where a party is overseas, panels routinely accommodate that. Hearings are typically a few hours a day over a few days, not a single marathon.
My losses were in an offshore fund sold by a Bangkok advisor. Is that a FINRA case?
Only if the seller or its US affiliate is a FINRA member. Many are not. We will check registration for free and tell you where — if anywhere — a claim can be brought.