The bonds of trust are strong between an advisor and a client. There is no way an average investor can understand all the complexities of money management and the securities industry, which is why they put their trust in an advisor to guide them to their financial goals.
Sometimes that trust is abused. The stories of Madoff and Stanford are very disturbing and the news hit closer to home this week. Rumors are flying in the press that an advisor in Kirkland produced false account statements and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from her clients.
With today’s technology it would be very easy to create false statements. So how do you know your money is safe? The best thing you can do is verify your investments are where they are supposed to be. We use large publicly traded companies to hold your accounts and you can call them to verify your assets. Those of you that access your account online have independent verification, but if you don’t then give Raymond James a call at 1-800-248-8863, hit zero and ask for customer service. We appreciate your trust but a couple of minutes on the phone is prudent and may help you sleep better at night.
At our securities firm it is amazing how often we receive checks made out in the name of the advisor instead of the name of the institution holding your funds. Make sure when you write a check to purchase a security you make it out to the name of the company holding your funds. We recommend you only hold your investments at companies that are large publicly traded securities firms where you can verify your funds are safe.
