| Your
Responsibilities As An Investor
To help ensure the success of your investments,
you will want to take a number of important steps personally.
Inform And Educate Yourself
Read thoroughly all sales literature, prospectuses,
and/or other offering documents, when available, before making
any investment.
Consider carefully all investment risks, fees, and/or other
factors explained in these documents.
Make certain that you understand the relationship not only
between your investment objectives and the risks and returns
on your particular investments but also between your particular
investments and your investment objectives. You need to remember
at all times that every investment has some degree of risk
and that it is possible to lose money - some or all - on any
investment.
Communicate With Your Financial Representative
Provide completely accurate information about
your financial status, investment goals, and risk tolerance
when seeking investment advice, so that your investment firm
can provide you with appropriate recommendations.
Seek out whatever information you need or want from your financial
representative by proactively asking any questions you have
about your account, a specific transaction, risk exposures,
potential conflicts of interest, and, of course, commissions,
sales charges, and other fees.
Notify your financial representative promptly whenever there
is a significant change in your investment objectives, risk
tolerance, income, net worth, or liquidity needs.
Review your portfolio holdings on a regular basis, and whenever
your financial circumstances change. You may want to make
appropriate changes based on your investments' performance
and your current objectives.
If you have any holdings in mutual funds, to tell your financial
representative about similar mutual-fund holdings you have
at other broker-dealers or directly with the mutual funds,
so that your representative can make sure you receive any
applicable "breakpoint" discount.
Keep Your Accounts Current
Have cash or available margin-buying power in
your investment account, or transfer funds into that account,
to ensure payment for securities purchases by the settlement
date. If you are paying by check or funds transfer, you should
always make payments directly to your investment firm.
Review all transaction confirmations and account statements
or reports carefully and promptly. You should report any errors
or any questions you have to your financial representative
or branch manager immediately.
Use The Right Resources - Carefully
Consult an attorney or a tax adviser for specific
tax or legal advice.
Keep in mind that you are fully responsible for your investment
decisions, if you choose automated channels (Internet or telephone)
for your trading needs.
Consider carefully the validity and reliability of investment
information obtained from all sources, especially unsolicited
information obtained over the Internet.
Understand that the opinions of securities analysts should
never be interpreted as a guarantee of future performance
or rate of return.
These best practices are aspirational in nature. To be sure,
the diversity of firms may require each firm to accept, reject,
or modify these practices to suit each firm's particular characteristics.
To abide by the highest professional standards is an obligation
we incurred when we chose to earn our living by managing other
people's money. Anything less would be inconsistent with the
trust our clients have placed in us and a betrayal of our
professional obligation.
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