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B
oard members and management companies are
engaged to oversee and maintain the financial
well-being of community associations and to imple-
ment financial policies that contribute to the financial health
of the community. Board members regularly review aged
owner balance reports to ensure that assessments are
being collected and that money is being spent prudently.
Condominium assessments have been described by courts
to be the financial lifeblood of an association. Similarly,
your brokerage account may be the lifeblood to your
retirement and investment savings plan. As such, you have
a responsibility to yourself to understand your brokerage
account statements.
As the self-regulatory organization that oversees the bro-
kerage industry, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
(“FINRA”) asks this seemingly simple question on its web-
site: “When was the last
time you read your broker-
age account statements?”
Investor literacy is import-
ant to ensure that financial
goals can be achieved.
Investors should under-
stand the importance of
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WHEN IT COMES TO PERSONAL FINANCES
YOU OWE A DUTY TO YOURSELF:
When Was the Last Time You Read
Brokerage Account Statements?
By Angela Morisco, Esq.,
Becker & Poliakoff
taking an active role in the management and protection
of investment accounts. Although to some a brokerage
account statement may appear to be intimidating, investors
should be aware of the information it contains. All bro-
kerage firms and most other financial institutions provide
customers with periodic statements
1
which contain various
types of information about the holdings, activity, and value
of the account at the statement ending date. Although there
are almost as many different forms of account statements
as there are brokerage firms, certain basic information is
featured in almost all of them. Investors should carefully
review this information.
Investors have a right to clear, concise and
accurate information about investments.
Prior to investing, education on how to evaluate and
measure risks and conflicts of interest is critical. It is also
important to understand the level of of discretion a financial
professional should can have over an account and to be
able to understand and access account statements.
First, determine if the personal information is accurate,
i.e. the account title (names of person, entity, trust, or
company), address, and most importantly, the investment
objectives. Second, for most individuals a review of
"Investor literacy is
important to ensure
that financial goals
can be achieved."