Mike Burbank runs the branch office of Morgan Stanley called The Burbank Group. You might come across their name if you are looking for financial advisors in San Francisco or nearby cities.
At first glance, this company looks like any other financial advice company. But they have a lot of dirty laundry to cover up. Some of these skeletons will be brought out in this study of the Burbank Group Morgan Stanley, which will help you decide if you should trust them with your money or not:
About Burbank Group Morgan Stanley
The Burbank Group of Morgan Stanley is a company that helps people with their finances. It is based in San Francisco, California. Its office is at 555 California Street, 14th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104, US, and the number to call is 415-576-2004.
Mike Burbank is in charge of running this company. He has certificates from CIMA and CFP. Other well-known people who work at this company are:
- Scott Hafeli, CFA (Senior Vice President)
- Private Wealth Advisor Wills Davis, CFA
- Cate Rachford is the Vice President and Group Director
- Take note that Mike Burbank’s name has changed.
His full name is Robert Mike Burbank, but he usually goes by his middle name because he used to get a lot of bad attention.
Mike Burbank, whose real name is Robert Burbank, has been in a big court fight with one of his clients, as you’ll learn in the next part of this review. His company gives services like investment management, pre-liquidity planning, comprehensive wealth planning, family governance and education about wealth, and more.
The company says it can help wealthy families deal with complex wealth management problems by giving them personalized service, resources, and experience. But their disclosures say something different.
Issues that Came to Light in the Burbank Group’s Disclosures Morgan Stanley
Mike Burbank’s $20,000 Legal Dispute
Financial experts are among the few people who rarely change their names. That’s because their brand is all about how well-known and respected their name is. Mike Burbank used to go by the name Robert Burbank, but he changed it because he had gotten a bad name.
In 2006, he went to court with one of his clients. The client said he thought he had put in the enhanced cash management program, but his money was actually in the tactical bond portfolio fund. They hadn’t said how much damage there was.
The case was settled for $20,442.28 and the original cash was put back into place.
Mike’s FINRA BrokerCheck profile doesn’t say anything else about this disagreement.
It’s a big mistake to put your client’s money in a totally different protection. It shows they are careless and don’t care about their clients. This legal battle might have a lot more to it, but Mike has taken this information down.
He goes by the name Mike Burbank so that when people look him up on FINRA BrokerCheck, they won’t know who he is. It’s smart, but it’s also a very bad thing to do.
Even more unethical are the clauses in his disclosures that let people take advantage of him. Here are some of these rules that you should be aware of.
Putting Fees of 12b-1
12b-1 fee is a promotion fee that goes to the broker or advisor’s pocket. This fee doesn’t add anything to the value or success of the investment. It gives the financial expert an “incentive” to recommend it more than other securities.
It’s a terrible deal for the client because it causes a lot of problems. First, it makes the counselor biased because they might pass up investments that would be good for you just because they don’t have a 12b-1 fee.
Second, it makes funding costs go up. The 12b-1 fee is a percentage fee that builds up over time. It hurts big portfolios the most because it makes investments much more expensive.
Putting clients in danger without reason
The Burbank Group Morgan Stanley also charges performance-based fees on top of the 12b-1 fees. This means that there is a financial reason for them to try high-risk tactics.
High-risk strategies aren’t good for large funds or funds that want to be safe over the long run. That’s because they are likely to fail and cause big losses if they do.
Salesmen, Not Advisors
Lastly, fees bring in a lot of money for the Burbank Group. They get these commissions from the sales of their own goods and products made by other companies.
In an ideal world, your financial advisor would only suggest shares based on how well they help you reach your financial goals. But if your advisor can make money by offering certain investments that pay commissions, they might not care about your financial goals at all.
One of the main reasons why financial advisors give bad advice and misrepresent their clients is to make money from fees. Sad to say, this flaw is also present in the Burbank Group Morgan Stanley. This is something that many shady mentors have in common. Winburn Wealth Management (UBS) also takes money from its wealthy clients in this way.
Should you trust Morgan Stanley’s Burbank Group?
The Burbank Group of Morgan Stanley is not what any family should do. The long-term effects of their unfair rules and uncertain leadership will be bad for you.
Most of their shady terms and conditions are set up so that you won’t know you’re losing money until it’s too late. For example, the 12b-1 fee doesn’t seem like much, but it goes up as your stock grows and adds up over time.
No one, especially a small financial advisory company, should act in such an unethical and greedy way. So, you should stay away from this company and look for a team of financial advisors who are truly fair and care about their clients.
