It is in your best interest to steer clear of less desirable possibilities before beginning your search for financial advisory services. The Davis Wealth Management Group Morgan Stanley is an example of the kind of advice firm that you should steer clear of. This company takes advantage of its customers in a variety of unethical ways by using shady business practices.
In addition, the leadership of this company has a checkered past that includes instances of fraud and deceit. Therefore, before you entrust them with your money, it is in your best interest to investigate the following issues with them:
The Davis Wealth Management Group: A Brief Introduction
Chicago, Illinois is home to the Davis Wealth Management Group, a company that specializes in wealth management. Their office may be reached at the following number: 312-419-3424 and is situated at 233 South Wacker Drive, Suite 8600, Chicago, Illinois 60606, United States.
This company is led by Ted Davis, who serves as the managing director. Aside from him, other noteworthy persons who work at this company include the following:
- Alan Panozzo (Assistant Vice President)
- Assistant Vice President Jason Darfler is in charge of this department.
- Senior Client Service Associate Michelle Jennings’s name is Michelle Jennings.
- Retirement planning is one of the areas of expertise offered by The Davis Wealth Management Group Morgan Stanley. It asserts that it has been assisting individuals and families in the planning of their retirement for numerous decades.
As part of the range of services that they provide, they offer retirement planning, financial planning, 401(k) rollovers, and asset management. The company asserts that one of its primary goals is to win clients’ trust by demonstrating that the retirement planning options it offers are superior to those offered by competitors.
In spite of the fact that this company expresses concern for its customers in a variety of different ways, the reality is that it does not. Their terms and conditions contain a number of areas that are fraught with potential conflicts of interest. Prior to giving someone your hard-earned money and believing the claims that they are making, it is in your best interest to verify that they do not have any conflicts of interest.
Red Flags in the Davis Wealth Management Group You Must Find Out
Ted Davis’ History of Fraud
Whenever you’re looking into a new firm, it helps to check its professional history. By doing so, you can determine if they are worthy of your trust or not. In the case of the Davis Wealth Management Group, I checked the backgrounds of their leadership on FINRA BrokerCheck.
The FINRA BrokerCheck listing for Ted Davis reveals that there was one disagreement. In 1994, he was accused of making false statements (committing fraud), as well as engaging in excessive trading. The client claimed they suffered damages totaling $23,921 and asked to be compensated in the sum of $25,160.
The court decided in favor of the claimant and awarded them the sum of $17,885.71 in damages.
This lawsuit is proof that Ted Davis has a history of misrepresenting information, which is a major warning sign in this situation. Conflict is not something that frequently arises in the careers of advisors. In addition, they have a multitude of legal loopholes that they may use to ensure that the outcome of these disputes would be favorable to them. Despite this, Ted and his company were required to pay a fine of $17,885 for fraud.
You need to proceed with extreme caution when dealing with companies like that.
Selling Investments instead of Recommending Them
Ted Davis and his company offer more for their clients than simply recommend assets to them. They are offered for sale. The Davis Wealth Management Group, which is a division of Morgan Stanley, has the opportunity to earn commissions from the sale of the firm’s own products. In addition, the commissions offered by some of these goods are higher than those offered by others.
When you interact with a financial advisor, you should have the expectation that their recommendations for investments will be made purely on the basis of how well those investments align with your objectives. However, the broker’s motive can be altered if he or she is able to receive commissions from the sale of particular products, which can result in the introduction of bias into the process.
For the sake of making a little more, the broker may choose to overlook your financial goals and requirements. One of the most significant contributors to improper advice given by financial advisors is the possibility of earning commissions from the sale of investment goods.
Charging Performance-based Fees
The Davis Wealth Management Group Morgan Stanley can charge you performance-based fees. In this fee structure, they make money when they outperform a specific benchmark or index. On paper, the performance-based fee seems quite attractive.
However, it has many disadvantages.
To outperform their benchmark, advisors tend to implement high-risk strategies regardless of their suitability for their client’s portfolios. High-risk strategies are quite detrimental for most investors.
These strategies generate poor or negative returns in most cases. Still, these strategies are particularly dangerous for investments looking for long-term growth.
What’s worse is that if you suffer losses because of your advisor’s high-risk strategies, you can’t hold him responsible for it. The waivers in your agreement ensure that they have no accountability for these strategies.
On the other hand, if these strategies work, you end up paying hefty fees. Certainly, charging performance-based fees is a highly unethical practice.
Conclusion
After going through the history of the Davis Wealth Management Group Morgan Stanley and checking its disclosures, it’s obvious that they are unreliable.
If you’re looking for a wealth advisory firm, you should go somewhere else because the Davis Wealth Management Group Morgan Stanley isn’t the right choice. You don’t have to stick with a tainted option when there are hundreds available.
