|
|
We believe that the needs of the investor should always come first. As
an investor, you have important rights, including the right to high
quality products and services from the securities firm you choose.
At the same time, investors need to shoulder certain responsibilities
themselves - for example, to plan carefully to meet their investment
goals and to stay informed about the risks and rewards of their
investments.
|
|
|
|
As an investor, you have the right:
|

|

|
-
To be treated in a fair, ethical, and respectful manner
in all interactions with a securities firm and its
employees and affiliates.
- To receive competent and courteous service and advice
at a fair price.
- To select your own representative or request a
different one if you are not satisfied.
- To move your account to another representative or a
new investment firm whenever you wish in a simple,
efficient manner.
|
|

|

|
-
To clear, accurate, easy-to-understand descriptions of
all your transactions, statements, and other
communications from your investment firm.
- To be informed clearly about all the costs associated
with your account and the costs related to individual
transactions, including commissions, sales charges (or
loads), and other fees.
- To accurate and timely regular statements of your
account, including detailed transactional information.
- To be provided with clear descriptions of your firm's
policies and practices for protecting the privacy of
non-public, personal information.
|
|

|

|
-
To be provided with responsible investment
recommendations based on your personal objectives, time
horizon, risk tolerance, and other factors, as disclosed
by you.
- To be apprised of significant conflicts of interest
identified in a financial relationship between an
investor and his or her broker-dealer or account
representative.
- To expect that your investment firm will provide
professional assistance to help you clarify your
investment goals and risk tolerance.
- To be able to rely on your firm's assistance also in
setting realistic expectations about the long-term
performance and associated risks of various securities.
The firm will present you with reasonable investment
alternatives designed to meet those expectations, and
disclose the comparative risks, benefits, and costs.
|
|

|

|
-
To fair consideration and a prompt response from your
investment firm, if any problem with your account ever
arises.
- To be apprised of alternatives if your investment firm
is unable to resolve a dispute to your satisfaction.
|
|
|
|
|
To help ensure the success of your investments, you will want to take a
number of important steps personally:
|

|

|
-
Read thoroughly all sales literature, prospectuses,
and/or other offering documents, when available, before
making any investment.
- Consider carefully all investment risks, fees, and/or
other factors explained in these documents.
- Make certain that you understand the relationship not
only between your investment objectives and the risks
and returns on your particular investments but also
between your particular investments and your investment
objectives. You need to remember at all times that every
investment has some degree to risk and that it is
possible to lose money - some or all - on any
investment.
|
|

|

|
-
Provide completely accurate information about your
financial status, investment goals, and risk tolerance
when seeking investment advice, so that your investment
firm can provide you with appropriate recommendations.
- Seek out whatever information you need or want from
your financial representative by proactively asking any
questions you have about your account, a specific
transaction, risk exposures, potential conflicts of
interest, and, of course, commissions, sales charges,
and other fees.
- Notify your financial representative promptly whenever
there is a significant change in your investment
objectives, risk tolerance, income, net worth, or
liquidity needs.
- Review your portfolio holdings on a regular basis, and
whenever your financial circumstances change. You may
want to make appropriate changes based on your
investments' performance and your current objectives.
- If you have any holdings in mutual funds, to tell your
financial representative about similar mutual fund
holdings you have at other broker-dealers or directly
with the mutual funds, so that your representative can
make sure you receive any applicable
"breakpoint" discount.
|
|

|

|
-
Have cash or available margin-buying power in your
investment account, or transfer funds into that account,
to ensure payment for securities purchases by the
settlement. If you are paying by check or funds
transfer, you should always make payments directly to
your investment firm.
- Review all transaction confirmations and account
statements or reports carefully and promptly. You should
report any errors or any questions you have to your
financial representative or branch manager immediately.
|
|

|

|
-
Consult an attorney or a tax adviser for specific tax
or legal advice.
- Keep in mind that you are fully responsible for your
investment decisions, if you choose automated channels
(Internet or telephone) for your trading needs.
- Consider carefully the validity and reliability of
investment information obtained from all sources,
especially unsolicited information obtained over the
Internet.
- Understand that the opinions of securities analysts
should never be interpreted as a guarantee of future
performance or rate of return.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|