Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors

Nov 2016

Have you ever met a financial advisor of just-average intelligence whose career was in coast mode? Where you think, "how does this guy keep his JOB at a prestigious firm like Morgan Stanley?" That's my experience with Todd Hauer who runs The Hauer Group at this office of Morgan Stanley. Five years ago, Mr. Hauer was The financial advisor to my father, my sister, and myself. First, my father left because of the exorbitant fees; then, my sister left because Mr. Hauer was unable to give her - and and sophisticated investor - the level of comfort and sound advice she needed; and now I am leaving. I received zero value from the firm and managed every single transaction myself using Morgan Stanley's online platform, which is quite decent. Nevertheless, I was hit with exorbitant fees EVERY quarter, Despite having negotiated a lower fee percentage than most Morgan Stanley clients. They bury these in statement fine print, so LOOK OUT. I was torn between 1 and 2 stars because I like the online and mobile trading apps, but when I closed my account this week, they hit me with a $100 account closing fee. Despite a decade Long relationship which netted them something on the order of $100,000 from me... very professional... 1 star for you, Morgan Stanley. I am moving my assets to Merrill Edge, But I would also recommend Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, or Charles Schwab.