Have a complaint about your broker? You better have proof

— -- Q: My broker told me it was safe to put all my money into real-estate investment trusts. I've lost 84% of my retirement. Do I have any recourse?

A: These kinds of stories are hard to hear.

Given all the advice dispensed at USATODAY.com about the power of diversification, I'm sorry to hear you were completely invested in a single type of investment. We frequently remind readers of the tremendous value of spreading their investments among a variety of investment types, including bonds, stocks of large U.S. companies, foreign stocks and other assets, such as real-estate investment trusts.

Certainly, REITs may belong in some investors' portfolios, as you can read here.

But putting your entire investment into a single asset class isn't something that's recommended. As you know, REITs were severely punished during the economic downturn as many investors who bought shares with borrowed money sold those shares to raise cash.

With that said, I'm not an attorney and won't even pretend to be.

If you feel you have a case against your broker, you'll want to gather all the materials you received from the broker. These cases can be tremendously difficult to prove, so it'll be up to you to show precisely what you were told and whether you were cautioned about the risks.

Most brokers require their clients to sign documents saying they're informed of the risks of a decision. If you signed a document like that, you'll need to prove that the level of risk wasn't accurately explained to you.

Brokers usually do a good job documenting their actions.

In any case, start by going to your broker's supervisor. Many complaints can be settled there.

If you don't get satisfaction, you can file a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission.