March 19, 2004
WE dont need more laws. We just need to crack down on the unscrupulous brokers that have taken much money from the elderly. A Tucson broker churned my father-in-law over and over. There were several hundred transactions every year. It cost my father-in-law several hundred thousand dollars. Youd think that Smith Barney was a reputable company. Not so in this case. He had a 90 year old in high tech, high risk stocks, rather than following age old wisdom that states that the elderly should be in bonds and income sources. Disclosure wont help that. Cleaning out the greedy, unethical brokers will help. Maybe if commissions were not allowed so there would be no conflict of interest for the broker. Thats where help is needed.