Beginning March 30, 2009 investors claiming losses of up to $100,000 will have the option of proceeding before a single arbitrator rather than a panel of three arbitrators. The SEC has approved the final rule change (see full Notice, accessible immediately below).
While any final conclusion concerning whether the rule change will prove beneficial to investors must await experience arbitrating under the new rule, two possible benefits to investors immediately come to mind: 1) The new rule permits investors with claims for less than $100,000 to proceed before a single public arbitrator rather than a panel of three, one of whom is a current or former employee of a brokerage firm; and 2) costs for hearing sessions, a substantial portion of which are comprised of honoraria for the arbitrators, will go down under the rule.
The full text of the new rule is accessible here: