There are different kinds of wealth advisory firms present in the industry. Some place their clients above everything else. On the other hand, some firms take advantage of their clients and abuse their funds. The Ferguson Smith Cohen Group Morgan Stanley falls in the second category.
They have multiple problematic provisions present in their disclosures. These provisions put their clients in compromising positions and allow the firm to get away with carelessness and greedy recommendations. In the following review, you’ll learn about these provisions and understand why they are not what they claim to be:
A Quick Introduction to the Ferguson Smith Cohen Group at Morgan Stanley
Wealth management services are provided by the Ferguson Smith Cohen Group of Morgan Stanley, which has its headquarters in Leawood, Kansas. Their phone is 913-402-5200 if you need to reach them.
The company asserts that its wealth consultants have years of experience and a profound understanding of wealth management. They assert that they put in a lot of effort to protect the money of their clients and assist them in developing detailed financial strategies.
The company makes the claim that it can assist customers in lowering their tax liability, preparing for retirement, and achieving a variety of other financial objectives. The following are just some of the many services that are available to you through this company:
- Financial study of the divorce
- services provided by institutions
- Asset management
- Retirement planning
- Executive financial services
- Donations made to endowments and foundations
- Products for lending money
- Professional portfolio management
- Planning for the continuation of a business
- Managing one’s cash flow
And several more.
Scott D. Ferguson is the managing director of this firm. Apart from him, other notable people at this firm include Dianna L. Smith, Andrew H. Sigler, Patrick L. Cohen, Chris Malmgren, and Ryan G. Widrig.
However, don’t let these claims fool you. The Ferguson Smith Cohen Group has many skeletons in its closet and it’s crucial that you know about them before you start believing these empty claims. In the next section of this review, you’ll learn about these issues and more:
Issues Present in the Ferguson Smith Cohen Group Morgan Stanley
Scott Ferguson’s Unreliable Leadership
Whenever you start looking for a financial advisor, you should check out their FINRA BrokerCheck listing. The listing would tell you about the advisor’s past experience, employers, state licenses, qualifications, and most importantly, past disputes.
Putting Customers in Dangerous Circumstances
The Ferguson Smith Cohen Group Morgan Stanley utilizes a compensation model that is based on performance. Because of the incentive, it gives the financial advisor to put the client in extra danger, this is a very controversial business practice.
If the adviser uses this particular fee structure, then the amount of money they earn is directly linked to how well your fund does. The fact that high-risk methods can produce higher results in a shorter amount of time pushes the financial advisor to utilize those strategies.
However, the majority of investors should not consider engaging in high-risk techniques. These tactics almost always end with the investor realizing mediocre returns and even suffering losses.
The absence of accountability is the primary factor that contributes to the negative effects of performance-based pricing structures. You cannot hold your financial advisor accountable for any losses you incur as a result of following the recommendations he or she gives you. Your level of comfort with risk wouldn’t matter to the company because they could increase their profits by putting you in more perilous situations.
Therefore, if the Ferguson Smith Cohen Group is responsible for damages to your investment, you will not be able to take any action against them. They brush it off by claiming that you were “aware of the potential consequences.”
Broker-Dealer Conflict
The advisors at the Ferguson Smith Cohen Group Morgan Stanley are dual-registered as brokers. This exposes their clients to various conflicts of interest such as revenue sharing with mutual funds, earning transaction-based fees and asset-based fees from the same security, and giving preference to affiliated securities.
Summary
All of the above points indicate that the Ferguson Smith Cohen Group Morgan Stanley is a major disappointment. No matter how many claims it makes about its expertise, the firm is a nightmare for any modern investor.
It has numerous problematic provisions in its terms and conditions which it uses to trap gullible investors. Hence, you should try your best to avoid dealing with them altogether.
