February 26, 2004
The forms that I received are a good start. I feel that the form which pertains to the particular type share sale, i.e., B shares, A shares, etc. should be prepared by the broker dealer prior to the purchase by the buyer, with a 24 to 48 hour waiting period. This should be a requirement. Individuals with little or no investing expierence should have adequate time to review the recommendation prior to the purchase being final.
There should be more information about Proprietary Securities. Certain companies, such as American Express Financial Advisors sell their own store brand. If an individual purchases their brand and decides to change to another Advisor with a competing firm the store brand cannot be moved, it must be sold. If the store brand shares are B shares the client takes it on the chin if the backend load hasnt expired. I use AMEX Financial advisors only as an example and have no ulterior motive. However, this example is valid. In my expierence most inexpierenced investors operate on Trust. I believe they are sometimes taken advantage of and by the time they figure out the many gotchas, it has cost them a lot of money.
One last point that may not apply to this issue, but is a valid concern of investors is the subject of The Prospectus. A person pretty much must have a Harvard Law degree in order to understand the page numbers much less the contents. Based on the complexity of this item it almost leads one to believe that the fund companies seeks to confuse and not to inform. SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY. Thanks for the opportunity to provide input.