Comments on: “Smith Barney, Why do you hate your customers?” A Play by JD

By: Anal_yst

Anal_yst — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 05:10:59 +0000

@ 7

It might not be a concerted effort not to distribute. Brokerage back and middle-office operations are, in some areas, so fantastically nightmarish, so disorganized, and held so un-accountable, that sometimes simple things take 10x plus as long to get done as you’d think.

Call them up and ask them why they won’t distribute. Get specific answers, and make sure to ask them what they’d need from you to distribute.

Generally, they’d need to have original documents on file signed by the IRA account owner (now deceased) naming you as a beneficiary, death certificate, and their internal distribution forms. Once they’ve determined you are a beneficiary (and what % of the account you’re entitled to) and you’ve accurately filled out their required documentation they shouldn’t take long to get the distribution processed.

Hope that helps.

By: linda

linda — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:53:45 +0000

Smith Barney is horrible. I am the beneficiary of an IRA and they will not distribute the IRA. There is no legal reason why they will not distribute the IRA. They have held the IRA for four months. Death certificates have been filed. There is no pending lawsuit; but they will not distribute funds. This is tantamount to highway robbery. They are earning management fees and interest from the account. An account in which they have no authority. They are crooks.

By: Gary Margolis

Gary Margolis — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:42:24 +0000

I purchased some stocks at citibank approx ten years ago the fees were reasonable for that time but this week I went to sell and the costs were over $400 dollars for $13000.00 The girl said that the costs were high due to there being a full service brokerage,well I purchased the same stocks years ago from another brokerage and sold the same day as the smith barney transaction it only cost $85.00 and some change for just about the same amount,Thank You E*TRADE And goodbye CITIBANK-SMITH BARNEY.

By: Today's news: Wednesday « the empirical skeptic

Today's news: Wednesday « the empirical skeptic — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 14:31:31 +0000

[...] Citigroup tries to not suck The company has launched a ‘pilot’ program to lure retail customers into using the bank’s other services. Visionaries –the description that comes to mind when I marvel on this unprecedented strategy. According to WSJ, “That new thinking was demonstrated on the morning after Valentine’s Day, when two dozen Citigroup bankers sat in a conference room at the Millennium Bostonian Hotel surrounded by color-coded, laminated place mats that identified them and described their jobs.” Unfortunately, this new move will force cohesion with the Smith Barney folks. [...]

By: Johnny Debacle

Johnny Debacle — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 09:12:47 +0000

SMAJ-

It’s a good thing to be listed — you aren’t on any hitlist, we just linked to people who had linked to us. As a way of remembrance and tidings and love. Although if we had known you were Canadian, we probably would never have linked to you in the 1st place.

Billo-

I would file Smith Barney’s brokerage business under “Dinosaur” or “For Dinosaurs.” I’m not sure which. Although they do get credit for making it easier to buy securities listed on the Estonian stock exchange than E*Trade does.

By: Billo

Billo — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 21:10:06 +0000

Haha, that’s awesome. I hate Smith Barney so much; we were forced to use them for our employee stock options at a previous job, and the reps were openly hostile towards us. I mean, angry and obstructive, not just incompetent.

By: DealBreaker.com

DealBreaker.com — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 20:16:25 +0000

Write-offs: 04.20.06…

$$$ Smith Barney, Why Do You Hate Your Customers?: A Play [Long or Short Capital] $$$ This makes us nostalgic for the early ’80s, when being a millionaire actually meant something. [Reuters via WSF] $$$ Yet another way to make……

By: Smaj

Smaj — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 20:16:02 +0000

Hey LorS,

In response to a comment you left me a while ago and finding my link to your site here: http://longorshortcapital.com/dividend-policy/ I’ve updated my links (about a month ago).

I believe that it’s in the best interest of LorS to take me off the hit list – maybe even add me to the list of people who eventually got the message and updated their links.
The truth is I was in Mexico while your site changed and cared more about sunlight than correct links – please accept my apologies in this matter. But ask yourselves this: wouldn’t you like to have corporate links to someone who can afford to ignore important changes such as Long or Short Capital growing because he was on a trip to Mexico? I hope that I’m making my point clear.

I look forward to reading your next posts. Since learning about your site, I have earned at least three meals worth of ‘personal investment’ from sources outside of my direct family, and gained 1.2 kilograms. Our economy requires long-term, consistent growth – eat a cheeseburger for the team!

May your wisdom exceed your wealth,
Smaj, Canada
http://smaj.blogspot.com

Ps. I’d really like to invest in dinosaurs – they became oil, didn’t they?