Is it legal for a brokerage firm to list theirselves as the owner of your account and the beneficiary?
Question:
They also out sourced the managemet of my account to another firm that was charging me like $700 a year to manage it. I have already fired them. Anybody ever heard of anything like this. One more thing I think they were sellng and buying stock at will to keep collecting sales fees.
Answer:
This sounds like a scam operation. You do relinquish considerable control over funds for specific reasons, such as debts in margin accounts, losses in trades that are not covered by other assets values, and that type of stuff. If they had you sign basically a 'full power of attorney' agreement without disclosing that, They are in violation of Federal and state law. Go to the NASD website and find the links you need, they are the first place to go. (Nation Association of Securities Dealers... basically the cops of the Stock Markets).
edit: feel free to e-mail me, I am a bit ticked off over this and may be able to help you with getting things done. I have been in the investment business for thirty years and this kind of crap really get me steamed.
Seems like you're being cheated. Good Luck.
No, i really don't think this is legal, unless you sign off some kind of agreement with them when you open the account. Can you check on the terms of the agreement for your account? Are they any small fonts at the bottom of the agreement? Make sure you take it to a lawyer or someone who can help you assert your legal rights. This kind of brokerage is not legitimate. You have to be real careful these days, as there are lots of online "so called" brokerage firm, and one never really know if they are legitimate or not. Please report this activity to the consumer bureau of business immeidately.
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