quote:

ORIGINAL: faerytattoodgirl

i advise myself on my money....but then i dont have any... 

quote:

ORIGINAL: blacksword404

Lol. I invest my own money. Some advisers have allegiances to people or companies other than you.

quote:

ORIGINAL: NeedToUseYou

Well, just in the last few days, two people I know have been screwed by their advisers.

quote:

ORIGINAL: NeedToUseYou

Well, just in the last few days, two people I know have been screwed by their advisers. First one, went to theirs in February and insisted they convert everything to cash, or something highly safe. However, he kept dragging and pressuring to stay in the market, stating that if everyone pulled their money like they wanted to, it'd cause a downturn. Well, after arguing with the guy (I wouldn't have argued I'd have ordered him or called the authorities, if he refused), they eventually relented. Well, this retired couple has lost 200K now. While that isn't illegal it definitely was not healthy advise or good advice, nor advice in the interest of his client.

Second case, was blatantly illegal. A 68 year old (my business partners mother in law) was no doubt ripped off. She had an annuity, and her adviser had canceled her existing one, and flipped it for another.  He had also invested her money in a manner that she had not consented to. Now, this case, is 100% fraud, as we looked up the relevant laws in Wisconsin, and he did not follow the necessary disclosure, or even get all the required documentation signed by her. She is out because of the flipping, and unauthorized investments about 250K.

Both of those were at supposedly legit companies. Well, known nationally, and the other regionally.

Point is if you have an adviser, and you have not checked where the heck your money is at, it may not be where you agreed it should be. Might want to check that out, especially those with annuities, as those are very lucrative to flip.

Anyway, thought that was odd that two people in my little extended circle got burned for nearly 500K total. The first it was their fault for not being more forceful, the second was blatant theft.

Just saying if someone is handling your money you really might want to do a thorough audit of where and how it is being used, so many it seems trust others to much.

quote:

Second case, was blatantly illegal. A 68 year old (my business partners mother in law) was no doubt ripped off. She had an annuity, and her adviser had canceled her existing one, and flipped it for another. 

quote:

 He had also invested her money in a manner that she had not consented to.

quote:

Now, this case, is 100% fraud, as we looked up the relevant laws in Wisconsin, and he did not follow the necessary disclosure, or even get all the required documentation signed by her.

quote:

 She is out because of the flipping, and unauthorized investments about 250K.

quote:

ORIGINAL: subfever

quote:

Second case, was blatantly illegal. A 68 year old (my business partners mother in law) was no doubt ripped off. She had an annuity, and her adviser had canceled her existing one, and flipped it for another. 

Canceling an existing annuity and exchanging it for another isn't necessarily an illegal, immoral, or even a negative thing for that matter... especially if it had been properly done as a tax-free exchange under the IRC 1035, and full disclosure had been provided to the owner.

quote:

 He had also invested her money in a manner that she had not consented to.

Is the new annuity a variable annuity, fixed indexed annuity, or a fixed annuity? From the sound of it, the new annuity is a variable annuity and at least some of the funds had been invested in equities.

quote:

Now, this case, is 100% fraud, as we looked up the relevant laws in Wisconsin, and he did not follow the necessary disclosure, or even get all the required documentation signed by her.

Insurance companies that issue variable annuities today won't even accept new business applications without signed disclosure forms. Is there any possibility that the 68 year old woman signed these forms and had forgotten about them?

How long has she had the new annuity, and when did she first notice a problem?

quote:

 She is out because of the flipping, and unauthorized investments about 250K.

I'm fairly sure the issuing company of the new annuity will launch a full investigation to determine if there indeed was any wrongdoing on the part of the representative who effected the exchange. If there was any wrongdoing, the company would rather correct the problem than have the Director of the Department of Insurance get involved. If it's a variable annuity, the NASD may get involved too.

Does the representative of the issuing company have E&O (Errors & Omissions) Insurance? Most E&O policies have a $250K minimum coverage for liability.