Pierow
Blackhawk
If I were ever to write a book about financial or estate planning in general it would be titled, "You Think it's Your Money?" I'm not saying all stock brokers are bad but for the most part I find they have little or no interest in you as an investor other than having your money under their management. Must be nice to wake up shaving earning money off your client's accounts regardless if the account goes up, down or sideways. You would think they would service you when you call to liquidate telling them you are going in a different direction. It is amazing how attentive the brokers get once you call them to say goodbye.
With 5 different clients I liquidated 10 accounts to cash this week and of those my brother and I are helping 2 clients post their complaints to FINRA's whistleblower program. Even though I tell the brokers they are on a recorded line they just can't help themselves but to lie and misrepresent the facts. On one account the broker tried to hide absolutely outrageous processing fees to the tune of half of the client's holdings thinking we would not catch it. It puts a smile on my face that I am able to, with the help of my clients shed light on these abuses. In fact if I am worth my weight in salt I owe it to my clients and the industry in general to report such abuses. Laughingly one client set up his accounts back in 2008 and when we called today to liquidate and request a check we were told we first had to fill out new account paperwork.
You might be thinking why would anyone have to fill out new account paperwork when you are calling to close the account? That is a great question and the answer is the broker never did his job in the first place. This broker has been earning money off of this client's account each and every day since 2008 without ever doing the due diligence of even asking what their risk tolerance was. All these important questions are on the 12 page new accounts form the broker should have filled out with the client in front of them. Now my client and I have to fill out all that paperwork ourselves and the best thing about it is we need the brokers signature before a check can be cut. It is impressive how these brokers think your money is theirs.
Thanks for allowing me to vent but there is plenty here for all to raise an eyebrow about. There is much in-between the lines here such as the client I just referred to. That new account paperwork has beneficiary designations on it and since it was never filled out, automatically this asset has to go through probate all because the broker never took the time to set the account up initially. If you take anything from this post, it would benefit everyone to call their broker/advisor/estate planner or whomever you have your money invested with and ask to verify your beneficiaries. Remember humans have to enter that information so there could be an error or like in the case I previously mentioned no bene's at all. Don't take their word for it, ask that they send you verification of bene's in the mail. Once you have that on their letterhead there is no disputing it. Hold whoever is managing your money accountable.
Sorry for the rant but hopefully this will encourage a few of you to make sure your accounts are in fact what you think they are.
Best, Pierow
With 5 different clients I liquidated 10 accounts to cash this week and of those my brother and I are helping 2 clients post their complaints to FINRA's whistleblower program. Even though I tell the brokers they are on a recorded line they just can't help themselves but to lie and misrepresent the facts. On one account the broker tried to hide absolutely outrageous processing fees to the tune of half of the client's holdings thinking we would not catch it. It puts a smile on my face that I am able to, with the help of my clients shed light on these abuses. In fact if I am worth my weight in salt I owe it to my clients and the industry in general to report such abuses. Laughingly one client set up his accounts back in 2008 and when we called today to liquidate and request a check we were told we first had to fill out new account paperwork.
You might be thinking why would anyone have to fill out new account paperwork when you are calling to close the account? That is a great question and the answer is the broker never did his job in the first place. This broker has been earning money off of this client's account each and every day since 2008 without ever doing the due diligence of even asking what their risk tolerance was. All these important questions are on the 12 page new accounts form the broker should have filled out with the client in front of them. Now my client and I have to fill out all that paperwork ourselves and the best thing about it is we need the brokers signature before a check can be cut. It is impressive how these brokers think your money is theirs.
Thanks for allowing me to vent but there is plenty here for all to raise an eyebrow about. There is much in-between the lines here such as the client I just referred to. That new account paperwork has beneficiary designations on it and since it was never filled out, automatically this asset has to go through probate all because the broker never took the time to set the account up initially. If you take anything from this post, it would benefit everyone to call their broker/advisor/estate planner or whomever you have your money invested with and ask to verify your beneficiaries. Remember humans have to enter that information so there could be an error or like in the case I previously mentioned no bene's at all. Don't take their word for it, ask that they send you verification of bene's in the mail. Once you have that on their letterhead there is no disputing it. Hold whoever is managing your money accountable.
Sorry for the rant but hopefully this will encourage a few of you to make sure your accounts are in fact what you think they are.
Best, Pierow
