Money Magazine) -- Maybe the bear market ended your early-retirement dreams. Or you found out that your parents' nest egg is nearly gone. Or you just didn't think you could lose (that much, that quickly. You're angry. Especially if there was a "financial adviser" -- what everybody used to call a broker -- getting paid along the way.

Just how much blame can you lay at that guy's doorstep? You'd have lost money in the past year even with the soundest of advisers. And most ways a broker can leave you poorer are perfectly legal. But there are times when a broker steps out of bounds and he -- actually, his firm -- can be forced to pay up.

Forget about suing the brokerage. Back when you became a customer, you signed an agreement to settle any dispute in private arbitration, a process that investor advocates complain tilts toward the industry.

For now, those are the rules. Your first order of business is to figure out what went wrong with your account. Here you'll learn the difference between a fair gripe and a winnable case, plus how to navigate the arbitration process. Finally, you'll see how the system may be about to change in your favor.