Dear Harry: In February 2010, I went to the financial adviser for our IRAs and demanded that he sell all our stocks and send us checks for the balances. The assets, at their peak, were worth more than $300,000. Today, they are at $130,000. He did sell the stocks, but we keep getting different excuses for not getting the checks. This is more than a year after we asked for the checks, and we must have gotten every excuse anyone has ever used in the financial industry. The last one was the old "the check is in the mail" excuse. I want to go to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to report him, but my wife said to check with you first. Is there an easier way to go? And what do we do with the money?
Harry Gross: Call the manager, demand your check
What Harry says: There are some things to do first. Call the manager of his office. There is absolutely no acceptable reason for such a long delay. If your guy is with a brokerage firm, demand to speak with the compliance officer. That should do it. You also may have a legal action through FINRA if he put you into those loss situations in violation of your instructions regarding the type of investment policy he should pursue. Be certain to put your IRA money back into a new IRA within 60 days to protect yourself from destroying the IRAs. For your investments, I suggest that you contact one of the major mutual-fund groups such as Fidelity, T. Rowe Price or Vanguard. They have people who can steer you to funds that share your objectives.
Write Harry Gross c/o the Daily News, 400 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19130. Harry urges all his readers to give blood: Contact the American Red Cross at 1-800-Red Cross.
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