Question: I have had a large investment management company managing my investments for the last 3 years, and the first adviser managed to lose $1 million dollars the first year . He finally sent me a message saying he decided to try something else. The adviser I have now is doing a very good job and the ups and downs of the market are not causing large swings in my portfolio. The investment management company has never acknowledged the reason for my loss.
The short answer to your question is that you have every right to demand an explanation and get possible restitution, says certified financial planner James Daniel at The Advisory Firm. You mention that your account is down 33% in 3 years and you haven’t been able to recoup anything — and that is probably not OK.
Whatever happened, you need these questions answered: “Were you using this company’s wealth management platform? It seems very off that a rogue adviser could cause such a loss as they generally don’t have discretion over accounts. You should have been following a model portfolio designed for your risk tolerance,” says Daniel. And, to gain some insight, investigate what you were invested in and what the company’s corresponding model portfolio performance was.