I heard an article on NPR last night that made me ill. Apparently, there's a company out there who is charging an extremely high sales charge for mutual funds (up to 50%!). This company targets military folks, b/c the sales force is made up of ex-military folks. Because of that, these military folks trust these ex-military folks for their investment advice. The NASD (people who oversee investment people) sanctioned
First Command for misleading statements and charging up to 50% in sales charges.
They're are using a "Systematic Investment Plan." Not illegal, but not common. As a registered investment advisor, I would NEVER sell or considering selling such investment vehicles. A regular mutual fund (front, or no-loaded) is just as appropriate and MUCH better structured.
This is no way a 'sales pitch' of anykind. If you EVER have ANY questions of investments -- I would recommend to ask several different people from several different companies for their input.
I'm posting this here b/c I know there are several people in the military who view this board, and I would feel bad if they wouldn't consider different options. (Basically, the NPR article said that these military people invested in this "Systematic Investment Plan" b/c they didn't know better.)
Granted, some companies (Fortune 100 Companies) I have worked for, have been known to be on page C1 on the WSJ. But I just thought I share this article.
NASD (National Association of Securities Dealers) Article
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