Mortgage And Asset Backed Bonds
My grandma died lately, and I’ve just inherited fairly a bit from her. I was instructed to open a Money Management Account (CMA) at Merrill Lynch simply because it was less difficult to distribute her assets that way, and I received cash, stocks and bonds, plus some other things that I do not even know what they are (defined assets, mortgage/asset backed, etc). My question is this: would these points that I have in my CMA trigger the total amount of what I’ve inherited to fluctuate day-to-day? Because I’ve noticed the balance has been finding smaller by a couple of hundred dollars the last few days. I’m a college student and I’m not at all familiar with this kind of stuff, so I’m questioning if money disappearing is normal, or if I’m possibly getting taken advantage of. My monetary advisor who is taking care of all of this for me is my cousin, and I wanted to see if I could figure this mystery out on my own before I called him up and asked what was going on.
And please, I’d genuinely appreciate it if somebody who knows what they are talking about would answer, and not some 14 year old who tells me to quit spending the money – simply because I haven’t spent a dime given that I’ve gotten it.
Toni – I am enrolled on the internet. That is why I’ve noticed my balance going down, due to the fact I log in every single 5 minutes to see what’s going on, haha. I can see which stocks I have and how they do at the end of the day, but I was just under the impression that my account balance wouldn’t change until I sold stocks or purchased them. But like I stated, I am entirely confused about this kind of stuff!
Plus, it’s not so significantly Merrill Lynch that I’m worried about scamming me, but the possibility of my financial advisor cousin (who did not inherit anything and who has access to my account) utilizing my naiveté to his benefit.
Thank you guys so significantly for your answers! I trust my cousin entirely (or at least nearly entirely, given that I did come on here to ask this question!) but I just wasn’t sure what was going on. After reading all of your assistance and then checking my account, I’ve noticed that my stocks’ values have been going down (they had a particularly poor day yesterday!) and that is what was creating my balance reduce. I guess I assumed the balance was regarded as “guaranteed funds,” if that makes any given that, rather of “what you could have if converted to money.”
Anyway, thanks again!
Answer by Ting Ting
Cease spending the money.
Answer by Toni
Merrill Lynch will NOT scam you.
You are dealing with 1 the ideal firms out there – thank goodness.
See if you can sign up online and preserve an eye on the account.
Most likely invested in the market place which fluctuates.
Do you even know what the money is invested in?
Call the broker and ask him/her – that is what they are there for – super sweet folks.
They will bend more than backwards to aid you – don’t fear calling them…
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write a letter, it can be a very short and simple letter but put it in writing and ask them WHY does the balance fluctuate and demand an answer in writing, tell them specifically do not call, send the answer in writing. Document EVERYTHING!
Good Luck …. U gonna need it.
I apologize for not knowing the answer to the financial side of your question, but I can tell you that trust is a very important factor in any financial relationship. If you don’t have it, you should get a new financial adviser.
if you own stocks or stock mutual funds, the value can go uo or down on a daily basis – selling only triggers a taxable event
Call Merrill Lynch. Any transaction that moves money in or out of the accounts must be well documented, ML will provide that documentation to you. The value of your account may well be fluctuating with the market and that is the figure you see moving on the ML website. Just call ML directly and get the answer, they would not protect the interest of your cousin over you, their client.
Fluctuation is normal based on market activity. You can convert everything to cash but you may loose based on what’s happening the day the conversion goes through.
Some days it will go up and some days it will go down. Important thing is that over the long run it goes up.
If you have questions about your cousin find another advisor. I would never use a family member, it’s a recipe for disaster.