Menu
Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store)
Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) Customer Service Phone, Email, Contacts

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store)
reviews & complaints

financialengines.com
financialengines.com

Learn how the rating is calculated

4.4 14 Reviews

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) Complaints Summary

12 Resolved
2 Unresolved
Our verdict: Expect excellent service from Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store). While their resolution rate is high, always verify their service terms. Read customer testimonials, both positive and negative, to gauge their service's reliability and responsiveness. Have all relevant information ready when dealing with their customer service for efficient problem-solving.
Verified
The authenticity of the customer service contact information for Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) has been meticulously verified by representatives from ComplaintsBoard using our proprietary verification system.
Get notifications about new complaints and reviews of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store). We promise not to send you any unrelated messages.
Share
Claim Your Business
Take control of your profile: address complaints and engage with reviews
Write a review File a complaint

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) reviews & complaints 14

Sort by:

Newest Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) reviews & complaints

ComplaintsBoard
R
9:51 am EST

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) Service Not Provided

WASTE OF MY TIME Was solicited by the Mutual Fund Store for a FREE Social Security Benefits review. Made appointment in March 2014, ( 3 hours round trip to Sterling Heights Mi. Store). Never heard back from Doug Clark ( representative) also e-mailed with no response. Since I didn't want any other products at time of appointment, guess I wasn't worthy of any further action.

Read full review of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store)
Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
K
12:51 pm EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) Skull Duggery

I must take exception and voice my opinion of what I hear from this radio program. All they ever say is the market is going to go up and you need to be fully invested in stock and bond mutual funds. The voice tells you they will find the best mutual funds for you. But I am here to tell you, the market is for trading only. No one is going to make money by owning mutual funds unless they trade and time the market. You ABSOLUTELY must not be in these funds when the market is moving sideways or is heading lower. They say you "get to be a long term investor." What does that mean? Ask the people who have been holding mutual funds for the last 15 years? It has not gotten them anywhere. They have measily long term returns when you factor in fees and taxes. Yet they have taken insane risk. They have seen their funds go up ridiculously [protected]). Then seen dramatic crash (late [protected]), then it goes back up dramatically [protected]), then another dramatic crash [protected]), then it goes back up [protected]). But when all is said and done it had produced virtually nothing for long term investor. You may think when these funds go up, it is good for you. BUT do not be fooled. You will think yourself richer than you really are and you will take stupid risks and a great deal of your income on things you do not need due to false sense of wealth. Then market will crash on you again when you do not expect it and you will be financially destroyed. This has been the pattern in this country since the 1920's and it is not changing anytime soon. You must not listen to people who tell you this stock market is for long term investors. You must wise up and realize you will only profit by the trade. IF you let them convince you otherwise, they will milk your savings of fees that you don't even realize until it's too late. You must not fall for the pitch of these salesman who try to convince you they have your interest at heart. They do not. They only want your fees, that is it, and they don't care what they have to say to get them.

Read full review of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) and 2 comments
Update by King 4 Ever
Aug 19, 2011 9:36 am EDT

So I am coming back to this website now. Just about 30 days ago, I said to avoid being in Mutual Funds that Adam Bold and the Mutual Fund Store recommend when the market is going down. The reason for this is that this company looks for funds that have HAD periods of high returns in the PAST. I believe they do this because they are selling the idea that they can find funds that seem to produce high returns consistently, and they need to show this to people on their proposals.
The fact of the matter is that they use funds that are much higher risk than the majority of the funds available. So when things go down, their funds get crushed badly. Look at CGMFX, down 21%. MXXIX down 20%. WTSLX down 22%, just in the last 30 days. These are returns that will destroy your portfolio and will destroy your ability to even be an investor. I believe this company and the way they mislead people about return and risk are very dangerous. Adam Bold says a lot of other investment advisors are bad. He badmouths many other funds and investment strategies. But ultimately, I think he is the one who is one of the worst. I suggest you avoid this company.

Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Hide full review
2 comments
Add a comment
B
B
bentheredunthat
rochester, US
Jul 17, 2012 6:10 am EDT

After reading previous posts - I would blame the markets on losses rather than the advisor. With that said... I am not a huge proponent of The Mutual Fund Store program and concept.
I appreciate the marketing scheme that Bold has come up with. He is filling a niche that most large investment company Advisors don't want to deal with, and that's the $25k- 50k+ investor. The Mutual Fund Store is essentially a franchise, whereby Adam Bold buys local radio time to do his 1/2 hour weekly show - then they purchase commercial time during the week to drive people to their radio show, and eventually their stores. A local rep buys the franchise, and benefits from the pipeline of smaller investors that the radio show creates.
The MFS concept works on a set system, and they use essentially the same platform for all investors. The Reps (advisors) aren't even licensed to sell individual securities (stocks), nor can they sell individual bonds. They are locked into funds that are recommended by Bold and his crew. They create portfolios with a mix of funds - charge a fee to 'manage the funds' and they generally don't talk too much about the fact that each fund has internal expenses. Unless the investor is very savvy, they don't know to ask about expense ratios, which will give them ability to actually compare fees fairly.
They generally trade through Schwab.
All-in-all, they run everyone through a program, without much customization. This keeps it simple and easy to manage for the advisor, but not always in the best interest of the client. TMFS isn't 'bad' so-to-speak, so if you're just starting out as an investor, you will probably be fine with them. If I had any wealth -whether in the markets or elsewhere- and if I needed any real financial planning risk management, etc - I would find a better-equipped, more experienced advisory firm.

U
U
Uber invester
, SE
Nov 14, 2011 6:59 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

These folks are bad apples ... they have limited ideas and depend upon people's "faith" in their investment insights, which are little more than retrospective performance with little forward thinking.
Run, do not walk from the Mutual Fund Store! I lost 18% minimum total value on six figures over 4 years, while my own stock investments I manage gained 12% year on year for the period ... beware the lure of skilled managers of managers! They do not exist - they are "skimmers" of fees only!

ComplaintsBoard
Z
1:37 pm EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) Radio Show

This show is new in my city. The first couple weeks I thought it was about "advice" and investing. Then it became apparent that this is a commercial for this business. I don't quite get why anyone needs someone to find mutual funds and pay them thousands of dollars to do it. There are so many ways to do this yourself with just a little time and effort. All the good financial publications like Barron's, Kiplingers, WSJ, or a myriad of other offerings supply a reader with more than enough information to pick quality mutual funds for the price of a lunch. This doesn't even bring to issue using some of the low cost fund companies like Vanguard or T. Rowe price who offer free consultation on their funds. Yes, yes, of course they are going to recommend their funds. But can you really go wrong with Vanguard? Or how about just using index ETF's. It's so easy to put together a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds and virtually eliminate the expense with these index choices. The only reason this fellow on the radio disagrees is because he wants you to pay him large sums of money to do what really is not difficult at all. That's my two cents, anyway.

Read full review of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) and 1 comment
Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Hide full review
1 comment
Add a comment
M
M
MarioM123
, US
Jan 13, 2019 11:02 am EST

The financial engines show is now just one long commercial. Now its Sell Sell Sell the services. Hey Financial engines, if you want to stop losing listeners… have at least one minute of facts that average people can use for retirement. The show misses the basic idea, that if you have more listener you would automatically have more potential customers.

Former Listener,
Mario M.
Holland Michigan

Is Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) legit?

Our verdict: Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) has achieved a rare feat of perfection in legitimacy, as per the rigorous analysis conducted by Complaints Board. This achievement underscores Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store)'s position as a benchmark of trust and quality within its industry. Users and clients of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) can engage with its offerings, confident in the knowledge that they are dealing with a top-tier, fully legitimized company.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) earns 100% level of Trustworthiness

Perfect Trust Endorsement: Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) achives 100% ligitmacy per Complaints Board. Highly recommended, yet always stay vigilant.

We found clear and detailed contact information for Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store). The company provides a physical address, 7 phone numbers, and 2 emails, as well as 4 social media accounts. This demonstrates a commitment to customer service and transparency, which is a positive sign for building trust with customers.

By resolving 85% of 14 negative reviews, Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) is demonstrating its dedication to customer satisfaction and effectively addressing customer issues. While there may still be some practical problems that need to be addressed, such as long wait times or unhelpful responses.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) has registered the domain name for financialengines.com for more than one year, which may indicate stability and longevity.

Financialengines.com has a valid SSL certificate, which indicates that the website is secure and trustworthy. Look for the padlock icon in the browser and the "https" prefix in the URL to confirm that the website is using SSL.

Financialengines.com has been deemed safe to visit, as it is protected by a cloud-based cybersecurity solution that uses the Domain Name System (DNS) to help protect networks from online threats.

Financialengines.com you are considering visiting, which is associated with Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store), is very old. Longevity often suggests that a website has consistently provided valuable content, products, or services over the years and has maintained a stable user base and a sustained online presence. This could be an indication of a very positive reputation.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) as a website that uses an external review system. While this can provide valuable feedback and insights, it's important to carefully evaluate the source of the reviews and take them with a grain of salt.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) website is deemed to be popular and indicating that it receives a high volume of traffic. It is important to be cautious when using a highly trafficked website, as it may be a target for cybercriminals looking to exploit vulnerabilities or steal personal information.

Financialengines.com regularly updates its policies to reflect changes in laws, regulations. These policies are easy to find and understand, and they are written in plain language that is accessible to all customers. This helps customers understand what they are agreeing to and what to expect from Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store).

ComplaintsBoard
M
1:33 pm EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) Wrap Account Warning

Adam Bold's Mutual Fund Store is a network of franchisees who operate under the guise of calling themselves, "financial advisors". But in my mind a financial advisor should do a lot more than just press a couple buttons and print out a pie chart, fill out contracts and paperwork to transfer your account, and then press more buttons to sell your current holdings and buy the funds they recommend. Yes, these people have the required SEC designations, but ask them any other questions having to do with taxes, estate planning or anything else and they say they can't do it. All they can do is sell a mutual fund wrap account. Wonder what a wrap account is? Highlight, copy and paste this link in your browser and see for yourself if this doesn't just sound like it was written specifically about Adam Bold and his Mutual Fund Store.
http://www.responsible-investing.net/news_jun09_wrapaccounts.html

Read full review of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store)
Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
B
3:51 am EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) Time to tell the truth

For some stupid reason I listen to Bold's commercial/radio show every Saturday. Probably because I'm just too lazy to change the radio station and it comes on automatically with my coffee maker. I'm not a client, and not a competitor. I've never met any0ne from the company so I have no axe to grind other than just years of chuckling over this program, which is nothing but a paid advertisement. At least they state at the end of the show, which they began doing just a couple years ago, probably because they were told to do so by some regulatory body. The problem I have with this program is that there is never any debate about the service or recommedations. Every now and then a caller attempts to get in a "controversial" subject regarding the fee structure, poor performance of a previously Bold recommended fund(s), ETF's, or market direction. Every single time, Bold cuts them off and dances around the issue, or just flat out ignores it. I'm curious if the advisors do the same thing if a client asks these same questions. If the radio voice of the company can't answer these questions, how can anyone else? He says he's been on the radio pumping managed mutual funds since 1998, but he nevers bothers to say that since 1999 the stock market has returned virtually 0% on a nominal basis and is significantly negative on a real basis. What has he done for his clientele for the last 12 years? Nothing. Well, except for draining their accounts of additional fees. It's sad because every year he convinces the more ignorant listener that ther is a way to pick winners, when he knows it's just a guessing game and the odds are poor no matter how you try to analyze funds. I've heard so many funds come and go from that show it makes me wonder that really his losers far outnumber any decent fund he happens to catch for a brief ride of glory. Let's see, he's loved Trendstar, Hodges, Forward Hoover, Marsico, Excelsior Value, FBR Financial, FBR Focus, Kinetic Paradigm, Red Oak, White Oak, Quaker, Third Avenue, a variety of real estate funds. All of which are no longer ever mentioned. Anyone can go find a 4 or 5 star rated fund and start talking like you've been in it for years...AFTER the fact. Then when it eventually crumbles like they all do, he moves on to the next one. Isn't this known as performance chasing? I find it interesting that he likes to criticize other investment choices and people engaged in different types of finacial services. He loves to point out their shortcomings as if he's genuinely concerned about the welfare of the listener. But what he nevers bothers to talk about is the shortcomings of his own service and how it's methods are just as questionable as any other form of advice. It's nothing but a wrap account of high fee managed mutual funds. The same thing as an annuity. The difference being that the annuity takes about 4-6 years of fees up front and Bold's fees continue forever, forever, forever. I said forever 3 times because the fees continue each and every year, wheras with an annuity or a front load fund they have a lifespan of 4-6 years. Personally, I don't condone paying any kind of fee. But the guy really needs to fess up and stop acting all high and mighty. He's no better than the worst of the worst he loves to criticize. So that's my beef about this program. I would love to have an HONEST debate with Bold but that will never happen.

Read full review of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) and 2 comments
Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Hide full review
2 comments
Add a comment
K
K
Ken Rapp
, US
Dec 26, 2015 8:01 pm EST

Very helpful. Question... What if you had an investment advisor that provides comprehensive advice.. is willing to be your on call financial advisor for all of your issues, including providing strategies around buying houses, buying cars, looking for a job, analyzing all you current life, di, company benefits and investments and provides reviews and strategies on all of those... including getting to know you and your families future wishes.. and mapping out strategies to make them happen. What if that advisor was a Certified Financial Planner(TM) practitioner.. and an Accredited Wealth Management Advisor. What if that advisor asked you about your life's goals.. and your life's wishes for your children and grandchildren and worked with you to make sure you did not run out of money and developed strategies designed to keep you from having to sell assets while they were down as you needed cash. What if this advisor did all of that for a maximum of 1.5% of all fees and expenses of the money under management with them(minimum $1, 000 fee).. providing advice on all your holdings elsewhere.. including your 401K. If any of the investments carry fees, they are part of the 1.5% total. If you could hire such a financial expert, would you? Ken Rapp

F
F
Frank Rudolph Bledsoe
Huber Heights, US
Feb 09, 2012 10:03 pm EST

I've got to say Thank-You to all of you who have shown me what I was to blind to see...If it sounds to good to be true, well we all know where that one goes. So I'm going back to what I already knew, if ya wanna make some good doughnuts, you be the one that handles the dough.

ComplaintsBoard
C
6:05 pm EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) Stealing Packets of Sugar

Bold loves analogies. He compares investment managers to quarterbacks, golfers and baseball players. A worthless analogy in my humble opinion. Bold tells the story of his grandmother who steals packets of sugar from restaurants because she lived through the depression and remembers suger being rationed. He points out other things being rationed as well in those days; coffee, meat, tires, cars...he does not tell us if his grandmother steals any of these items for the same reason as the sugar packets. But he appears to justify that it would be ok to do so, since she's only doing it because of the memories of rationing. So try this analogy Mr. Bold. Stealing packets of sugar from restaurants seems to be a victimless crime to you. Well consider if everyone who came into the restaurant did that every single day the restaurant was open. Before long the restaurant would have to start charging for each packet and only bringing them out once payment has been collected. One person stealing a few packets goes unnoticed by the restauarant, however. This is kind of like the fees you suck out of each account MFS manages. It's just a "small percentage" and just like your grandmother you've figured out that people won't notice it. But over time it adds up to a hell of a lot of sugar!

Read full review of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) and 1 comment
Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Hide full review
1 comment
Add a comment
L
L
Liquid Spoon
, US
Jun 17, 2011 10:34 am EDT

Capt. Queeg, Sir, I do believe you've hit it right on the head!

ComplaintsBoard
H
1:42 pm EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) What are you paying for?

If you open an account with them, they transfer your account to Charles Schwab brokerage. No big deal there. Schwab is great for the retail investor, that is as long as you don't have a 3rd party advisory contract in place. If you do, you don't get any of the benefits that Schwab offers. They tell you they use a "select list" of funds that are selected by and researched by Adam Bold and his assistant. They will NOT tell you what the research methodolgy is comprised of. "That's proprietary" you are told. They will tell you they talk to each manager. So what? What is the manager going to say? "I suck, don't use my fund." You get my point. I talk to the salesman at the car dealership before I buy a car too. Big deal. So Bold says he has a "Select List" but you never get to see it or know how and what gets a fund added or removed. All the Mutual Fund store will do for you is take your money and allocate it across the funds from this "Select List." For that you are charged minimum $750 per year. (That is based on a $50, 000 account. Let's say you have $250, 000, then the exact same portfolio, percentage wise in the same funds, will cost you $3, 750 per year. Guess what! Schwab has a Select List too. The difference is they show you all the funds that are on it, they detail exactly what puts a fund on or off, they constantly monitor the funds, and update the list quarterly and email it to you. So lets say you have that same $50k or whatever size account you have, you can create your own customized allocation or you can use pre-built models based on a questionairre, like consertive, moderate, aggressive and so forth. Then all you do is click the button and you can buy all the funds in the exact allocation you want. It takes at most about 15 minutes to familiarize yourself with their tools and options, and you can always call and talk to a Schwab consultant and never have them say "he's in a meeting, he'll call you back in 2 hours." Best of all, there is no charge from Schwab for doing the exact same thing the Mutual Fund Store claims to do. How do I know all this? Because I was once a client of Mutual Fund Store. I got fed up with "he's in a meeting" and no other advice other than put 10% in Fund X, and 15% in Fund Y and so on. I saw nothing as far as returns to even pay for the fees I paid them. Schwab is wonderful, easy, informative and the price is right! Let's say you don't even want to click the button yourself. Well Schwab has an allocation service EXACTLY like Mutual Fund Store that only will cost you $250/yr on that $50k account or $1250/yr for the $250k account. So that's my two cents for you. Check it out yourself though and you will discover how much you can save by eliminating the "middle man" known as Mutual Fund Store.

Read full review of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) and 2 comments
Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Hide full review
2 comments
Add a comment
F
F
FLOATINGDOC
, US
Jul 28, 2012 9:01 am EDT

sweet! write up. GO VANGUARD AND DO IT YOURSELF! BOLD IS A SHARK!

W
W
Wish_I'd_known
, US
Jul 19, 2012 10:34 am EDT

I put my retirement accounts under the management of Mutual Fund Store in July, 2008. As of July, 2012, my total internal net rate of return over 4 years, after fees, is -- get this -- 3.2%! Their management fees were twice as much as my investment gain. I would have been as well off with CDs and slept much better at night. Stay away from Mutual Fund Store. At best, they are incompetent advisors.

ComplaintsBoard
S
4:56 pm EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) Stupidity?

Is Adam Bold really as stupid as the things he says? I don't know. I can't believe anybody could be as dumb as the things I hear coming out of his mouth. So I give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he says the things he says to keep his clients buying his services. Anyway, some guys calls in to his show and basically brings up the issue that commodities and precious metals have dramatically risen in price because of the devaluation of the US dollar via the government printing press. Yea, the caller is completely right! The caller points out, that stock prices have also been propped up by this same methodology...right again! Then Mr. Bold goes into an angry tirade, tries to make this guy out to be some kind of lunatic conspiracy theorist and never lets him make any further comments. Bold then proceeds to say that stocks only go up because companies are "increasing their earnings". Where has this guy been the last 3 years?! Has he not heard of Quantitative Easing 1&2? Does have even the slightest grasp of monetary policy? Does he not understand that the government went hog wild to prevent DEFLATION (see your house value) by printing trillions of dollars and devaluing the dollar, meaning that it forces everyone to unload their dollars and buy something, anything with them. Buy Gold, corn, oil, stocks, cars, houses. Anything but hold onto your dollars. DUH. This is ECON 1 and this Bold fellow doesn't understand any of it! Now what is going to happen when QE2 ends? He doesn't want to talk about that.

Read full review of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store)
Update by Sweet Mo Lasses
May 21, 2011 3:13 am EDT

Here we are, Doomsday Eve. I thought it funny that Bold brought this group up on his radio show. Mocking it's members for being stupid enough to give away their savings to such an obvious scam. The "Doomsday Church" and it's network are worth $72 million according to IRS filings. I bet that's more than what the Mutual Fund Store is worth. Bold should recognize a good scam when he sees it! He points out it's leader predicted Armegeddon in 1994 and was wrong. Assuming he is wrong about tomorrow, he would be wrong twice in the last 17 years. Bold is wrong so often with his predictions no one even bothers to count.

Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Hide full review
ComplaintsBoard
L
6:01 pm EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) Horrible Advice

Gold, Silver and oil have quadrupled over the last 10 years and the ENTIRE time Adam Bold has been on his weekly radio show telling people over and over not to invest money into these asset classes. His mutual funds have done absolutely NOTHING for a decade and yet this guy acts like he knows what he's talking about. This weekend one of his lackeys makes the statement "the easy money has been made in natural resources, so we don't like that category". IF it was so "easy" why didn't Adam Bold ever suggest it? I can't believe the brain dead drivel that comes forth from this program on a weekly basis.

Read full review of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) and 3 comments
Update by Liquid Spoon
Jul 14, 2011 11:39 pm EDT

ANOTHER NEW HIGH for GOLD. Well, seems I recall the Bold Fool saying Gold was going to sell-off.
I can't believe how BAD this guy's advice has been. For the past decade he has put his clients money into technology and financials and has taken a bath, yet he rails on precious metals at EVERY dip. Clearly the guy simply can't admit he's been horribly wrong and has cheated his clientele out of their hard earned money with high fees and shipshod advice.

Update by Liquid Spoon
Jun 17, 2011 3:53 pm EDT

Cuthbert, did they have you in Hodges Fund? Bold used to blab on and on about how great of a fund manager Don Hodges was. BLAB, BLAB and BLAB, which is two more BLABS than Morningstar rates it. They say HIGH RISK and LOW RETURN. That's the way to pickem there Boldy! Also, how about Irene Hoover and the Forward Hoover Small Cap. Same thing there, he blabs and it tanks!

Update by Liquid Spoon
Jun 10, 2011 8:48 am EDT

More sewage spills forth from Bold. This time he says he doesn't care about the Morningstar rating system. Of course he gives NO rationale for this ###ic statement. Maybe because half the funds he recommends are rated poorly by Morningstar. Morningstar ratings take a lot of detail into their methodology, most of which Bold can't and doesn't even try to explain. He also says he doesn't care what category Morningstar considers a fund to be. He says he doesn't consider this because he "talks to the manager and asks them what category the fund should be" Wait a minute, considering the vast amount of analysts that Morningstar employees, is he suggesting that Morningstar doesn't talk to the managers? Given that Morningstar's CORE business is researching and rating funds and they are NOT in the business of selling recommendations who do you think is ACTUALLY going to be BETTER at rating and researching mutual funds with an unbiased eye? Bold needs to be held accountable for the crap he spews out simply to sell his product, particularly as he tries to bill his radio hour as unbiased and educational, and not just an in-house paid for infomercial, which is all that it is.

Update by Liquid Spoon
Apr 25, 2011 4:21 pm EDT

Adam Bold says he has a porceline bowl that reminds him of his grandfather. Funny, I have a couple of porceline bowls that remind me of Adam Bold.

Update by Liquid Spoon
Apr 21, 2011 5:48 am EDT

Bold is such a ### in his biased arguments against ETF's. One of his reasons for bashing ETF's is so comical I can only shake my head. Does this guy really believe the things he says? Or is he smarter than I give him credit for and thus just lies for his own benefit? I don't know the answer to this riddle. So here is one of his reasons; he likes to say ETF's are bad because you may be buying or selling above or below it's net asset value and the ETF can fluctuate in price like a stock based on supply or demand. Yes, Einstein, that does mean you might buy an ETF for more or less than its NAV at any given point in time. With his managed, open end funds, you buy or sell based on the mathematical NAV at the close of business of your transaction date. To the small minded this may seem that buying an ETF at above NAV is bad deal, which of course, would suggest that buying an ETF below NAV is a steal...However, ask yourself, how does an open end fund with end of day NAV pricing differ? It DOES NOT in any shape or form since it is made up of individual stocks which are all priced under the EXACT same concept of supply and demand, as the ETF is. Therefore, since each stock is priced just like a ETF, it follows that a fund comprised of similarly priced securities is the SAME thing! With an open end mutual fund you are buying a basket of stocks which will obviously contain many stocks that are priced above any sort of valuation metric that could be applied due to demand for that stock. That's why stock prices go UP and DOWN every single day. DUH. What a concept. It's not that hard to understand. Good Lord BOLD, if your thinking were true, all we would need to do would be to run a simple search for all the ETF's that are currently trading BELOW NAV, of which there are HUNDREDS, buy them and wait for my guranteed gain upon their return to their NAV pricing. EVERYTHING is priced on SUPPLY and DEMAND, whether it's an ETF or a basket of stocks in an open end fund. Your open end funds pricing is simply for accounting purposes only. Bottom line is that BOLD can't ever like ETF's under his system of mass clientele, because he has no ability to execute trades during the day. And of course, he can't sing his song about the "manager" being the driver of performance. Personally, I own some managed open end funds along with some ETF's, so I am not here to say a person should ONLY use ETF's. Just BE HONEST about what you are saying Mr. Bold. If that is possible for you. ETF's have many advantages to open end funds, such as lower cost, transparency, ability to manage capital gains taxes, ability to focus on specific sectors, and intra-day liquidity. Maybe that's why you see ETF's inside many open end mutual funds.

Update by Liquid Spoon
Apr 19, 2011 8:36 pm EDT

Gold just hit $1500 an oz. Gold has skyrocketed over the last decade and Bold has poo-poo'ed it since the start of the gold rally. If you have had your money with this company and you don't ask your advisor why the hell there has never been any gold in your portfolio then you are as dumb as Bold himself. And DO NOT buy his dodge of saying that his stock mutual funds have gold in them, because, even if they do, it's such a fractional amount to not make a difference. As evidence of this just look at the 5 -7 year return of ANY mutual fund recommended by Bold. They are miniscule returns, and net fees you're lucky if you are break even. Of course, you've been paying FEES every single day to Mr. Bold and his cronies. The funniest thing is when you hear Bold say things like "the easy money has been made in gold" hahhahahahahhaha. If it was so easy where was he?

Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Hide full review
3 comments
Add a comment
C
C
cuthbert whitehead
, US
Jun 16, 2011 4:59 am EDT

Mutual Fund Store is a joke. I have, soon to be had, account with them. They had close to 30% of my money in the Leuthold Asset Allocation fund. Now I see two things very, very wrong with that. First they say no more than 15% in one fund. But I had four different accounts and that fund was the biggest holding in every one of them, so for my whole portfolio it was 30%. Next, why am I paying someone to buy a freaking BALANCED fund?!? Lastly, I did a scan of balanced funds available at Schwab that are no load and no fee, and there were 81 of them. Guess what, the 3 year return of Leuthold Asset Allocation Fund was DEAD LAST! It's had ZERO return for the last 3 years. But I've paid a fee of about 1.3%, so that means I've actually LOST money in a category where 80 out of 81 funds options made money. This place is horrible, and my advisor had absolutely NO explantion for it other than to shrug it off as bad luck.

C
C
Cal1962
, US
Apr 17, 2011 1:52 am EDT

I went in to one of these franchises and gave them a statement. I presented them a brokerage portfolio of mine of about $112k that was held at Schwab that included some of the low cost Schwab index ETF's, a few low cost Vanguard Funds in both the stock (domestic and intl) and bond category, and one precious metals ETF. The cost of this portfolio were less than .35% annually. The five year return was 6.8%, net of fees. The portfolio put together by the rep at the store was composed entirely of managed funds with an average expense of 1.28%. MFS would be charging me 1.5% so my total expenses would increase to 2.78%. That means I would go from paying about $350 in fees to $2, 780 in fees each year to use their service. That is an increase in fees of 695%! Lastly, the portfolio they put together had a five year return of 2.8% based on their own material, they also told me it was calculated net of fees. However, when I did the math, it appeared to me that it only covered the actual funds fees and did not include the MFS fees. When I questioned this, the advisor became a bit flustered and said his program should be set to include their fees but he would need time to check it and would call me back, to which he never did. I think he realized from all my deep questions that I was not a candidate to be a client and the portfolio was too small to merit his time.

The guy actually explained away the fact that my portfolio performed significantly better based soley on the inclusion of 10% allocated to the precious metals ETF in my portfolio and that MFS does not have precious metals in that large of allocation, so he said it was not an apples to apples comparison. He also told me that indexing was a decent strategy if I only wanted to do as well an index, but their service would allow me the opportunity to outperform indexes. Even though their historical 5 year returns had underperformed he continued to labor on this point and explained the last 5 years to be an "unusual time for the markets" that is unlikely to occur in the next decade.

Draw your own conclusions. What I saw was high fees, lagging performance, and narrow arguments to support their advice that paying more money in fees would generate greater returns.

L
L
Leonard knows it
, US
Apr 07, 2011 2:46 am EDT

For anyone stupid enough to pay roughly 3% per year in fees for Bold's services, consider you can now put together a completely diversified portfolio using Schwab ETF's, and pay $0 commission, and the management fees are only .10% for Schwab's ETF's. Now, Bold will argue, but you don't get "professional management" choosing the best stocks. Blah, blah, blah. All the statisitics in the world prove that 90% of managed mutual funds never beat their index. So that means out of every 10 funds Bold picks out of the hat, ONE might actually beat its index, and that could only be by a fraction. Only a fool would pay Bold and his managed mutual funds their ridiculous fees to get subpar returns. Never mind his crappy advice as suggested above.

ComplaintsBoard
P
12:41 am EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) A Stopped Clock

Bold says he's been pumping mutual funds on the radio since 1998. It's true. In 1998 he was blabbering on and on about technology stocks and funds. We all know how that turned out. After tech burst he started pumping financials and financial services. We all know how that turned out. He sounds a bit directionless at the moment, since he can't really jump on the current bubble; precious metals, so he seems to talk about basically nothing over the course of his one hour infomercial. He spends a lot of time talking about the nearly 50% rise in stocks since March of 2009 and tries to act like this is proof of he knows what he is talking about. He says nothing about the fact that anyone who was taking his advice or following his allocation plan is, even in the best of situations, still in the red, or perhaps just about break even if they've been in the market for 10+ years. Bold is a stopped clock. He is going to be right once per day and thats it. That doesn't mean to say that his own net worth hasn't benefited immensely from his weekly drivel. But this has been on the backs of the people who have been paying his company to manage their money.

Read full review of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) and 4 comments
Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Hide full review
4 comments
Add a comment
B
B
Bucephalus
, US
Aug 03, 2011 7:45 am EDT

Swissmath. You are clearly not a mathematician. What I said was to factor in the mutual fund store fees and the taxation. Yes the fund has about a 3% 10 year trail as of 8/2/11. But if you held that fund over the last 10 years, no doubt during some of those years you've paid capital gains tax on the distributions. Owning the fund by itself and ignoring taxes, you've had a return of 3% per year, assuming you bought on the exact day 10 years ago, have not put anymore in and haven't taken anything out. If you reinvested your dividends and cap gains, you could very well be negative, given most distributions are made in December, which, for seasonal and behavioral reasons markets tend to be at their yearly peaks (Wall Street does a great job of "painting the tape" at year end to suck more fools in).

The Bottom line is there is no rationale argument that can be made for paying a service like Mutual Fund Store to have your money in a stock fund that has been regarded as a closet index fund, to get 1.5% return (after TMFS fees). You've taken a boatload in risk, and have done worse than if you had your money in CD's.

S
S
SwissMathematician
, US
Jun 27, 2011 10:59 pm EDT

@Bucephalus: not sure where you get your numbers. The 10 yr trail on Select American is 3.55% and Hodges is ranked in the top 11% on a 1o year basis. these are from Morningstar as of 5/31/2011. not sure I like or dislike Mutual Fund Store, but you seem to be providing incorrect statements.

B
B
Bucephalus
, US
Jun 03, 2011 8:34 am EDT

I think 10 years is long enough to see if something works or doesn't work. So let us consider money invested with the Mutual Fund Store. Bold has been recommending the Selected American Fund for 10 years or more. Over the last 10 years, if you had your money with MFS and he had some of it in Selected American you have a return of ZERO (the fund had a return of 1.48%, then you subtract MFS fees. Now your REAL return is going to be negative, because this fund no doubt was doing some trading and incurring capital gains in some of those years. You have to pay taxes on those gains. Then you must consider inflation, probably close to 4% or more over the last 10 years. So you have a real return of probably close to negative 7%. AND you had to suffer through an agonizing 40% decline in 2008. The Mutual Fund Store works fine, if you are just collecting fees, like the company. But if you are looking for a return on your investment, you have way too many hurdles to overcome to come out ahead on this deal. I think its humerous how he blasts the funds people call in with by saying that "fund is in the bottom 25% of all funds for the last 3 years." But then he turns around and recommends the Hodges Fund, and has been recommending it. Well this fund is in the BOTTOM 5% of funds in its catecory for the last 1, 3 and 5 year time period. Bold is such a hypocrite. He hates everything that he doesn't recommend and defends everything he does like with stupid arguments.

B
B
Bucephalus
, US
May 05, 2011 9:33 am EDT

A sociopath is characterized by the deficit of social emotions such as love, guilt, shame or remorse. According to the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, the sociopath lacks "a sense of moral responsibility and social conscience." Sociopaths often scheme to manipulate others without regard to consequences of inflicting harm. It is the cold-hearted way the sociopath reacts to his victims that illustrates his lack of moral compass and detachment from other human beings.
Observe the person in his day-to-day life to assess her interactions with others. Sociopaths may be charming, but their actions are calculated to manipulate others. Common behaviors include scams, fraud and deception and may include feigned emotions to appeal to the victim's emotions.
Watch for indications that the individual pursues anything they want at the expense of others. According to Austin Peay State University, the sociopath's life revolves around meeting his own needs without regards to others.
Verify stories and information provided by the suspected sociopath. Sociopaths typically concoct elaborate backgrounds, inflate their worth and experience and simply lie to convince others to give them what they want.
Look for lack of expression of guilt or remorse for wrongful actions towards others. Lack of emotion and failure to express remorse typically signals sociopathic tendencies.

ComplaintsBoard
A
9:58 pm EST
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) A Wrapping of Deceit?

I examined the promises this company makes. A) They say you will own the "best Funds". What is the definition of best fund? There aren't any other than past performance. Do you want to invest based on past performance? How hard really, is it to move your money to the funds sporting the "best" past performance AFTER you know the results? Not very difficult I would guess. Does the company have any predictive powers of what the "best" fund will be in the next 12 months? You can be judge of that. But while you're at it, please tell me who will win the Kentucky Derby next year as well. The odds are about the same. B) Wrap Fees. That's how they make their money. The are many people who consider wrap fees as fraudulent. You be the judge of that. But you should at least know what wrap fees are and what they mean for your portfolio. Read this link for some clarity.
http://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/2007/06/wrap_fees_beware_of_investment.html
Here is another one. http://www.byrneasset.com/images/Article-NJL-wrapaccounts.pdf
The Mutual Fund Store is an RIA firm cloaked in a Wrap Agreement. How can you tell? Ask them for any financial advice other than the allocation of your money into various mutual funds. That is all they will do. They are unable to provide any other financial advice. No estate planning, no tax planning, no insurance evaluation. It's nothing but a wrap program, which many consider fraudulent and barely legal. You be your own judge. Do your own research.

Read full review of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) and 2 comments
Update by A Dill Pickle
Nov 11, 2010 4:46 pm EST

Here is another article about the pitfalls of the "wrap accounts". It's just another layered fee to pay in your portfolio on top of the high fees of the funds chosen.
Copy and paste this link from Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0412/investing-brokerage-commission-retirement-finra-ripping-you-off.html?boxes=Homepagetmagazines

Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Hide full review
2 comments
Add a comment
S
S
See the Light
, US
Feb 03, 2011 2:31 am EST

Once you punt Mutual Fund Store off your accounts at Schwab, all kind of portfolio planning and analysis tools become available for you. You can easily set your allocations and rebalance it yourself without paying the high fees for someone else to do it. Unless a person is completely illiterate when it comes to investing, using Schwab's plethora of tools is a no-brainer in my humble opinion. You won't be able to see any of the Schwab tools as long as you are hooked up to Mutual Fund Store, however. So in a way they keep you in the dark!

S
S
Stay Balanced
Palm Beach, US
Dec 25, 2010 6:52 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Dear weaned on a pickle,
Why are you so sour on paying for a service. If you don't want the service, don't pay for it! Sounds like you placed your money with them, you were unhappy with the results, and now it's everyone else who is at fault.
If you entered into an agreement with them, did you read the paperwork first? If wrap fees were fraudulent they would not be allowed. Don't most of the largest accounts in the world have their money managed in some sort of wrap account? Yes they do. Forbes sells advertising not investment advice, read their disclaimer about investment advice they give. Life is too short to complain, let it go.

ComplaintsBoard
L
12:25 pm EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) Poor Service, High Fees

They say they pick the best Mutual Funds and always monitor them. However, most of the funds they put me in were rated poorly by Morningstar, such as 2-3 stars. When I questioned the advisor he really had no answers that made any sense. He just said those were the "best funds according to their OWN research." I asked for details and he couldn't give me anything. I asked him to give me some info on these funds and all he told me was the managers name and said I could read the prospectus if I wanted to know more. "What in the world am I paying for", I ask? He said, "we allocate your portfolio". I can do that myself I said. Then he seemed to get flustered with me and said he had another meeting and he had no more time for me. You pay them a lot of money in fees. I figured if kept my account with them for a full year I would be paying close to $1900. This is extremely expensive and I expect a hell of lot more in service for that kind of money. So I told them to take a hike. I think this company is not worth your time.

Read full review of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) and 4 comments
Update by Len7110
Nov 07, 2010 1:31 am EDT

Heard some guy for Mutual Fund Store on the radio saying what a great fund Hodges Fund is. I looked it up on Morningstar and they rate it a ONE star fund, which is their worst ranking. Wonder who knows more? A bunch of CFA's at Morningstar or some guy on the radio. Just thinking out loud.

Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Hide full review
4 comments
Add a comment
C
C
Cuyahoga7
, US
May 13, 2011 8:43 am EDT

Heard their fill in radio person, Scott Capace, say he did not care about paying 10x more in fees for a managed mutual fund. Then he made the amazingly stupid statement of "I will always choose a fund with higher fees, more risk, and less return". Yep. This guy actually said that when he was presented with a question about the low-cost Vanguard Funds. He must have been so flustered that he made this truly freudian slip. His unconscious mind knows exactly that he is selecting higher fees, higher risk and providing lower returns to the people that listen to him. Then he suggested that Vanguard only offers index funds. He instantly cut this guy off AND he did not answer the man's question which was about the Mutual Fund Store charging fees ON TOP of what the more expensive mutual funds that they so like to drum on and on about.

C
C
Cuyahoga7
, US
May 04, 2011 7:09 pm EDT

Do the math. If you consider the fund fees plus the MFS fees, you have close to 3% in management fees you are paying to someone else to handle your money for you. On a 100k portfolio that means you will pay $16000 in fees in 5 years! That is INSANITY!

T
T
The Enlightened 1
, US
Mar 25, 2011 12:00 am EDT

Fees are insane already with mutual funds. The real pain is when you add the fees of the Mutual Fund Store. Consider that over a 30-year period, an increase of just 1 percent in fees can reduce a nest egg by 20 percent. The only reason this company exists is that their customers really have no idea just how much they are really paying. The advisors are like leeches, slowly sucking the blood out of unsuspecting people's accounts, day after day.

J
J
Jaylyn
, US
Mar 18, 2011 7:46 am EDT

I had similar experience. My advisor seemed to not know very much about the funds, and kept deferring my questions by saying they have an in-house research group that handles the picking of the funds and his role is to allocate my portfolio. I feel kind of stupid for falling for his sales pitch and not doing the math to really see how much this was costing me. The service is VERY expensive for what they do. My returns were horrible.

ComplaintsBoard
D
12:48 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) UNCARING OUTDATED SERVICE

ADAM,

When someone calls The Mutual Fund Store show with ADAM BOLD he has no good argument in defense of ETS's. ETF's are for intelligent people not the kind of brain dead college educated clients MFS clients are. Of course an IDIOT can blow themselves up with ETF's. They can also do it with mutual funds. If my financial planner needs GPS to get to Krogers, he's fired... If he can't give an historical performance record for all the asset models in his group, he's fired. If he cares less about my money than i do, he's fired. I like Walt Kazunchuck of MFS SF Bay Area but he cares less about my money than his own. He doesn't recomment ETF's even to people it might be appropriate for since it would brake the IDIOT Adams rules. I left MFS in 2007 and have made more money shorting and playing long at the right times than i ever did at MFS. MFS is mainly for financially brain dead people who may even be college educated professors. Thats part of the problem. TOO much school makes too many people too stupid. That's Adams advantage which he profits on to the hilt. I'm not trying to build a shuttle to the moon, i just want to trade. The word investing is the biggest slap in the face lie perpetrated on a civilised world. The stock market is a casino and as soon as people realise it the better. Only good thing about this casino is i get to see the other guys cards which gives me a great advantage as long as i don't let guys like ADAM BOLD play for me. ADAM couldgive a flip when it's not his money. So glad i left WALT and MFS when i did...Now i'm finally making money. Since MAY1st to AUG1st 2010 i've made 50, 000 dollars of my $800, 000 total. I'm positive that beats the crap out of MFS. Especially since MFS won't even publish any historical track records. If i can do that in a BEAR market i'll have no problem when the bulls come out. Just the fact you had to say i did not get your goat on the radio saturday proves i DID...hahhaahh. If you can't even publish historical porfolio records as many honest planners do, To HELL with you.

Read full review of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) and 7 comments
Update by dcLarry182
Mar 02, 2011 8:38 pm EST

You Nailed It!

Update by dcLarry182
Feb 25, 2011 5:42 pm EST

Just like Wall Street. The Mutual Fund Store and that Slimy Adam Bold do the same thing. PUSH, PUSH, PUSH, the public to buy paper. Never sell paper, only buy, buy, buy. Only thing he thinks he's doing is getting you to buy what he thinks the best paper is. I use Charmin and do not need him to charge me money to choose my toilet paper or to help me wipe my ###.
thank you

Hide full review
7 comments
Add a comment
W
W
Whiteville
, US
Mar 03, 2011 12:02 am EST

Bold says frequently that he sorts through "27, 000 mutual funds and includes ETF's" to consider for his clients. This is BS. All his client accounts are custodied at Charles Schwab. If you check Schwab's website, they only offer about 2, 000 funds via their no-load, no transaction fee schedule. Bold's Select List come's from this group. If you do a simple screen using the Schwab Fund Screener to include from this group, Morningstar ratings of 3, 4 or 5, you are down to 950 funds. Screen out for manager tenure of at least 5 years, you are down to 550. Next screen out funds with expense ratios above 1.5% and you are left with just 275 activley managed funds that make a decent argument that should be included in anyone's portfolio. It doesn't take a genius from there to fill an allocation pie chart. However, I dare say Bold is a marketing genius for making people believe he has some sophisticated methodolgy at fund selection when all he has to do is spend about 15 minutes building his initial screening criteria and then about 2 minutes once or twice a year to see if any funds have fallen out or into the screen. He can't use ETF's because it would be impossible for his advisors to be making trades all day long for clients, so he will never consider their viability. Now for the individual, if you can't learn to use these simple criteria for yourself, then you are just throwing money down the drain. If you aren't considering the use of some ETF's, especially in your taxable accounts, you are wasting money. Ultimately, Bold exists because many people are just too lazy to do a little bit of homework.

W
W
Whiteville
, US
Mar 02, 2011 6:53 pm EST

I let myself get suckered into Bold's outfit for about a year. I had, what they told me was a "balanced" portfolio of about 65% stock mutual funds and 30% bond mutual funds, the remaining 5% they held as cash of which they could suck out their fees. In my portfolio I had several funds rated 2 or 3 stars by Morningstar, but also had very high expense ratios. They sent me quarterly report, which appeared to be manipulated from quarter to quarter as they changed the indexes they were comparing themselves too. In my view, it appeared they were shopping for ways to make themselves look better. Anyway, my returns were simply, at best, just tracking indexes, and in a couple quarters did worse than indexes. I recieved ONE phone call from the advisor during the year, who basically just said "your portfolio remains balanced". I wanted to know why I should keep paying these fees to get index like returns, to which he had no reply other than "you need to be patient". I considered this to be saying, you just need to leave your money with Mutual Fund Store longer, so we can drain more fees out. Anyway, I called Schwab and removed them and have since been using a mixture of Schwab Mutual Funds and ETF's all with EXTREMELY low managment fees. They have a "portfolio analysis tab" which tells you what percentages you have of each asset class and if you are out of alignment for FREE. I am saving roughly $3, 500 annualy in fees that would have gone to Mutual Fund Store and my returns are still right in line with the indexes. There is no commission to buy or sell Schwab ETF's or funds so it makes it a very cost effective way to build a balanced portfolio for no cost. 2 weeks in a row I called the Mutual Fund Show, and told the call screener I wanted Bold to address Schwab's low cost mutual funds, and ETF's in comparison to his service. Each time I waited on hold for about 30 minutes and then was told they had too many callers and would have to call back again. I took this to mean Bold does not want this question asked on air.

L
L
Leonard knows it
, US
Feb 25, 2011 4:58 pm EST

Bold and Mutual Fund Store advisors only tell you to do one thing, and that is buy, buy, buy. They will never tell you to sell. A simpleton can buy, the hard part is identifying when to sell. Why pay money to have someone do the easy part? They need you to stay invested in their funds so that they keep getting paid. So, while he says they have no conflict of interest in the funds they put you in, this is simply not true. They need you to stay fully invested at all times so they can keep sucking fees out of your account.

S
S
Stay Balanced
Palm Beach, US
Dec 25, 2010 7:14 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Dear dcLarry182

I agree everyone should be able to back up what they say...

Please post your 2010 tax return to back up you claims.

Thanks

K
K
King Crab
, US
Aug 26, 2010 2:43 pm EDT

I got hosed with Mutual Fund Store and here is how. I had been with them for about a year. I had a financial hardship and I had to sell all my funds due to this event. Well guess what, they had apparently put me into a bunch of different funds from what I started out with, without bothering to tell me or ask me if my situation was any different. So when I called them to sell they said most of my new funds had 90 day hold periods or else I would get hit with a 2% early redemption fee. I had no choice but to eat it and to top it off they wanted me to pay them their fees on top of that! I think they must rotate people into new funds just to get that 90 day hook into people hoping they will stay for another 90 days.

S
S
Simpson9
, US
Aug 24, 2010 1:41 pm EDT

Bold tries to convince the more ignorant financial consumer that he has some secret methodolgy to identify mutual fund managers. If you are going to let this company invest your money, and pay them a lot in fees to do that, you should demand that theyprovide you with a list of EVERY mutual fund they have EVER recommended, when it was added to their recommended list and when it was removed. If they won't, can't or don't provide this to you, I would suggest walking out the door. You must be willing to do some follow-up yourself and see how these funds performed a couple years prior to be adding, while they were on his list, and the timing of his removal. Most of this research you can do on Morningstar.com. If you don't know how to do this kind of research, get a second opinion from another advisor. You have to cross-check all of these advisors against one another anyway.

A
A
Arrgoya
, US
Aug 21, 2010 12:23 pm EDT

I had to chuckle about your post dclarry. I think I heard your call and it was funny. Bold has no defense against ETF's, because they are so cost effecient compared to his fee laden structure. It also takes away another one of his HUGE dodges, and that is transparency. With an ETF you can actually see what you are buying and how it's positioned when you buy it. This enables a more "intelligent" investor to study what he is actually buying. With his managed mutual funds, he can disregard what's in the fund and just say he relys on the manager to make all the decisions, thus relieving him of having to do any actual market evaluation. The only thing he does is look at PAST performance which is ###ed. Basically, people are paying him to do absolutely nothing, but invest and hope. Which is the exact same thing they could do with out his allocation service and fee. Also another example of the stupidity of MFS system is they claim to be a "allocation" service, but half the funds he talks about are allocation funds! So his clients are actually paying him to allocate their portfolio by him using allocation funds.

ComplaintsBoard
V
8:46 am EST
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) Scam artists

Here is the scene. There are a group of financial planners sitting around a table and one says, 'I have an idea. Why don't we stop charging commissions and just charge a small annual management fee.' This way we will make less money and the client will make more'. The reality is the planner makes more although it sounds like a better deal for the client.

This is the easiest lie to sell in the financial services business. 'We do not charge a commission, we only charge a small annual fee'. You hear this guy, Adam Bold on the radio every weekend telling you that you should avoid the 'greedy brokers' that charge a commission. The actual fact is the 'greedy broker' charges a lot less than The Mutual Fund Store.

The Trojan Horse is that the 'greedy broker' charges a one time fee whereas the mutual fund store charges at least 1 1/2% fee every year, even if your account loses money. Let's look at what happens if you invested $100, 000 with the greedy broker. Your sales charge is a one time fee of $3500. Assuming you are in the investment for ten years with the mutual fund store your fees total a whopping 15% of your original investment which is $15000.

If your account makes no money nor loses no money for the ten years your balance at the end of ten years would be less than $85000. If you do the math and assume that your account grows by 10% per year your fees to the mutual fund store total over $24000.

This is why he hammers other brokers and annuity salesman. He talks about greedy brokers and annuity salesman like they are lepers. He spends most of his show speaking ill of others in his industry. The fact is, in the recent economic down turn, his investors have lost a lot of money, while those who invested in annuities have lost no money and paid no fees and their accounts are actually up in value. Sadly, his investors have lost a lot of money and they will lose some more when he deducts his fees from their accounts. To his credit, Adam Bold is a great marketer but don't expect him to tell you the truth.

Read full review of Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) and 123 comments
Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Hide full review
123 comments
Add a comment
R
R
Rembert
, US
May 24, 2016 5:57 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I expressed an interest in the Mutual Fund Store through one of its on-line forms and received a call back two days later. I was unable to talk at that time and said I would call back within an hour. The representative did not identify himself and did not leave a phone number. He simply hung up! With "idiots" like this soliciting business, it's amazing The Mutual Fund Store is still in business.. Then I found this web site. Needless to say, I now want nothing to do with The Mutual Fund Store. Their operation reminds me of a bucket shop. STAY AWAY.

X
X
xboeing
Bothell, US
Jun 30, 2015 12:43 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I've got an appointment with The Mutual Fund Store and I have to admit there is an overwhelming number of unhappy investors and then there's this.

http://www.bbb.org/indy/business-reviews/investment-advisory-service/the-mutual-fund-store-in-indianapolis-in-32001842/

I really hope my search shows up in the above link because shows no complaints filed with the BBB from anybody ever? How does that happen? I have anybody who has an explanation for this phenomenon to answer with an explanation.

O
O
Orinthal
, US
Jun 02, 2011 2:07 am EDT

Adam Bold says they use "special" algorithms to manage money. I suggest you run away from any money manager who uses the phrase "special algorithims". AIG was using special algorithims as was Long Term Capital Management, as was Lehman Brothers, as was Bear Stearns. Need I say more?

B
B
Bad Breath
, US
Apr 14, 2011 12:30 pm EDT

The radio show they have is an hour long infomercial. They should be on in the middle of the night with the Sham-Wow's of the world. Nothing useful about this program. Don't waste your time.

D
D
disappointed in LaPorte
LaPorte, US
Sep 30, 2010 3:58 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Thank you, Conejos. The previous poster missed my point entirely. When I'm investing a large, 6 figure, amount and am promised personal quarterly contact, that is exactly what I expect. I'm happy that I fired the MFS and started seeing a real advisor.

S
S
SpringMan
Shelby Township, US
Jan 18, 2015 9:15 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

My comments are based on his radio show. I am not a client and will never be in the future of the MFS.. I am a fan of Vanguard where we have invested for decades. First Bold hates target date funds because every investor is different. Does he think people are too stupid to look under the hood and pick the one matching their desired allocation rather than go by target year. He does not like them because no one company has a lock on the best funds. Does that matter if the sub funds are all index funds as is the case with Vanguard. Folks that get paid by assets under management do often have conflicts in interest. You will never hear Bold recommend paying down a mortgage when someone calls with a new found windfall. No money for him in doing that. His Smart 401K company is very flawed. Advisers always say look at your asset allocation as a whole, not by individual accounts. How in the world can Bold make recommendations in a 401K without considering IRAs and taxable accounts. My advice for MFS clients is run to Vanguard, Fidelity or T Rowe Price as fast as you can.

S
S
SANHEDRIN
Norton, US
Aug 25, 2014 11:36 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

...look, this is a commission hustling business..they get suckers called clients to fork over fees and commissions fort trash investments...just go to Vanguard, no commission hustling, low low low fees, most people find out too late their "advisor" is just a weasel that sucked commissions out of them

S
S
SANHEDRIN
Norton, US
Aug 25, 2014 11:33 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

...these guys, like any hustler salesman, if in the business of commission hustling...the suckers they call "clients" are the dupes who fatten their pockets...buy Vanguard, low low low fees, and no fee or commission hustling, no pitches to get your money into their pockets...anymore a client is no more than a sucker...

H
H
HDTVMAN
St. Louis, US
Feb 27, 2014 10:02 pm EST

I noticed that these complaints were made in 2009, after the 2008 down turn. I have been with The Mutual Fund Store for over three years and have averaged, after the fees, 12% net. Having talked to financial planners regarding fees, their 1.5%/year is reasonable. My wife is a secretary for a financial planning company, and the stories I hear about commissions, fees, annuities, are nuts. I trust the adviser, I can look at my account thru Schwab everyday, and I am happy with the results.

B
B
BK3
Cleveland, US
Jan 28, 2014 10:54 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Brian at the French Creek Store in Avon Lake, Ohio took our $75 K and seven years later it was down to $74, 200.00.I immediately got it out and switched it over to Vanguard where the fees are much lower and it appears the investors are more in tune with the markets.I too got suckered in by that Adam Bold show on Saturday Morning.Serves me right for trusting this snake oil salesman.

Trust badge
Collect Your Trust Badge
Be recognized for outstanding customer service

Contact Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) customer service

Phone numbers

+1 (866) 303-3809 +1 (800) 601-5957 More phone numbers

Website

financialengines.com

Your Voice Matters: Our Commitment to Genuine Reviews

Empowering Real Experiences

At ComplaintsBoard, we believe in the power of true customer stories. Our platform is a space for authentic voices, where experiences, both good and bad, are shared openly and honestly.

Dedicated to Authenticity

ComplaintsBoard is vigilant in our fight against false reviews. Our team employs robust verification methods to ensure every review reflects a real customer experience, upholding the integrity of our platform.

Encouraging Detailed Feedback

ComplaintsBoard values reviews that come with real evidence. Whether it's a photo, a detailed account, or additional documentation, such substantiation adds credibility to your story, helping others make better-informed decisions.

Balanced and Constructive Conversations

We're more than just a complaints board; we're a community for balanced dialogue. ComplaintsBoard encourages reviews that not only highlight issues but also acknowledge positive aspects, fostering a fair and comprehensive understanding.

Free and Fair Platform

ComplaintsBoard's commitment to maintaining a free and unbiased platform is unwavering. Every review is treated equally, ensuring that your voice is heard and respected, regardless of the nature of your experience.

Is ComplaintsBoard.com associated with Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store)?

ComplaintsBoard.com is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) Customer Service. Initial Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) complaints should be directed to their team directly. You can find contact details for Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) above.

ComplaintsBoard.com is an independent complaint resolution platform that has been successfully voicing consumer concerns since 2004. We are doing work that matters - connecting customers with businesses around the world and help them resolve issues and be heard.

Use this comments board to leave complaints and reviews about Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store). Discuss the issues you have had with Financial Engines (formerly The Mutual Fund Store) and work with their customer service team to find a resolution.