Kiplinger.com Community - fisher investments money manager

suzan300

the s&p dropped 13% - fisher management lost 50% of my 80 year old mother's money. 1st they sold all her assets at a tax premium and now, having lost all her life savings, she cashed out! I have been advised that she has a law suit against Fisher for the manner in which they invested her money.....anyone with experience like this and anyone have any advice?

pricespector

Actually, the S&P dropped about 40% in 2008, and hasn't recovered by any substantial amount in 2009.

I'm not sure how you could sell at a "tax premium" if there were no gains. If she lost all of her money, she should be getting tax deductible losses.

Depending on how your mom was profiled for risk, she likely doesn't have much of case. EVERYONE had similar losses if they were invested in stocks like the S&P 500. Fischer didn't "lose" the money, the market tanked. Also, a lawsuit is not an option at this point because as part of her brokerage agreement, any complaints are subject to arbitrage (non-judicial review & resolution) first.

As I said before, it depends on how your mom was risk-profiled. If she had indicated in the past that she wanted to be 100% in stocks, there is no law that says she can't be...even at age 80. However, I would have to agree that for an 80 year old, she was being very agressive. Part of her original application will have her risk assessment included and this document states the "mix" of equities that she can be put into by the advisor's/brokerage recommendation. If this document allowed her to be exposed to the market, she is out of luck completely and just one of the millions of investors slammed by the economy.

On the other hand, if her risk assessment stated that she wanted guarantees or a some percentage in "safe" investments like government bonds, she may be able to recover that percentage in arbitrage.

I think most veryone can relate and those of us who were in the stock market share her pain. She is far from alone.