"I Want to Hold Your Hand"

     This song by the Beatles, first sung live on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, had the teenie bopper girls screaming and fainting with derision. Today,  this same song is being sung by a different group, called Full Service Brokers. The same girls who swooned to the Fab Four are now in their 70's and need help with their life savings. Many are widowed and not of entirely sound mind. They think they have found "a guy" who will always act in their best interests financially. WRONG! Most brokers are in the business for their OWN best interests. Are they all bad? No! If I were a broker, I would want a six figure income too! I would be reluctant to tell an elderly female client, who knows virtually nothing about finance, to take her money elsewhere and buy a laddered CD portfolio. But that is exactly what most seniors should do. It's not sexy, it has no bragging rights, and the current yields are low, but it's the right investment for many seniors. As a volunteer tax preparer, I see many cases where a senior has a brokerage statement (1099 consolidated) where there are 30 plus pages of transactions. Usually, the individual trades don't amount to much money, but the annual amount of proceeds is a major percentage of the person's portfolio. More often than not, a capital loss is the result of this "churning" of assets. Each trade generates a commission for the broker in addition to fees charged for "managing" the account. The client is usually oblivious to the scam. Not every widow has a son who likes to manage assets. I see my job managing Mom's money as simply protecting her from the Wolves of Wall Street. At 92 years of age, blind and with severe dementia, she needs some protection from these guys. Do I detest these Full Service Brokers? No. I actually use one for a portion of Mom's assets and also some of my assets. The key is that I carefully evaluate their recommendations before making a purchase. Managing a portfolio is like owning a home, you should have the skills and tools to do a proper job. If you have no stomach for finance, you should not own a stock portfolio, buy a low cost mutual fund with a good track record instead. Bottom line, hand holding in the financial world is expensive and can result in yearly stock losses so if you don't know an ETF from an ATM, then do yourself a favor and take your money to your local bank.