Fidelity calls

[sengsational]

I got a call out of the blue from a Fidelity rep at our local office the other day on my mobile # (which they got when I added the Fidelity app to my phone, I suppose ... my profile has my 'land line'). I've never been into that office and never talked to anyone before. I've never talked to any kind of advisor at Fidelity unless I called and asked about something. Maybe they have some kind of new program to make these customer contacts. Not pushy or selling at this point, just "can I help you with anything".

 

[monte1022]

Our guy was trying to be helpful, but I not certain that he fully understood the intricacies of the ACA and MAGI limits. It's one thing to know the ACA model and a completely different thing to know the specific income levels that offer the best value in each state.

His focus seemed to be on rolling over part of our 401k to a cd/bond ladder for Fidelity to manage for 40 basis points. To make up for the loss of ERISA protections, he suggested that we increase our umbrella coverage limits. Both ideas will cost me money. However, a cd/bond ladder will eliminate principal risk and potentially make more money long term than our current mm/stable value options since I do not like bond funds.

 

[sengsational]

Our guy was trying to be helpful, but I not certain that he fully understood the intricacies of the ACA and MAGI limits. It's one thing to know the ACA model and a completely different thing to know the specific income levels that offer the best value in each state.

I'm not going to train the Fidelity rep. It's like getting stopped by the cops...the less you say, the less ammo they have to eventually use to sell you something.

 

[PatrickA5]

I'm not going to train the Fidelity rep. .

Funny, every time I call Customer Service (anywhere) I end up feeling like I'm training the associate. Yesterday, it was a Chase guy. I told him I wanted to transfer my Ultimate Rewards points to my wife's card. Normally, this is an easy online process, but the card was new and we had to set it up with a phone call. The Chase guy said it couldn't be done. I told him to take another look. He came back apologizing to me and thanking me for letting him know.

I'll admit that I haven't had to train my Fido guy. He's been around for 20 years and knows his stuff.

 

[ERasap]

We're at 3.5m with them, but only 1.3m taxable and ira. At one time I was a private client then one day it was gone. Who knows?

I had this happen to me, contacted my advisor, and he fixed it. What we finally figured out was I made a change to add my wife to ownership of one account and an issue came up, and the department at Fidelity that fixed it caused it to no longer show my advisor. Was an easy fix though.

 

[ERasap]

Folks, Fidelity advisors are all on salary, they don't benefit from you signing up for their managed programs. You can ask them this directly, they expect the question and won't be offended. Just ask. My advisor has been great, early on he asked my if I was a DIY or would like more help, told him DIY, he said great, lets talk about whatever you need help with. He showed me a lot of things on the website, how to create account groups and organize things, how to rename accounts, improved my use of the retirement planner, and checked my budget and caught some errors. He wanted to find out how conservative/aggressive I was as an investor, and He recommended asset allocations in my bucket system. Told him I want to use VTI as my primary stock fund. Great, that's a very good fund.

Also, there is a dedicated team that I can email and get quick responses and they are great. They don't ever bother me with asking for managed accounts, expensive whatever. Fidelity makes money just having your accounts.

Just my 2 cents. Wish I had engaged a Fidelity advisor much earlier. I have had Fidelity accounts for 20 years, and like some people here thought talking to an advisor would somehow cost me money. So wrong.

 

[Koolau]

I got a call out of the blue from a Fidelity rep at our local office the other day on my mobile # (which they got when I added the Fidelity app to my phone, I suppose ... my profile has my 'land line'). I've never been into that office and never talked to anyone before. I've never talked to any kind of advisor at Fidelity unless I called and asked about something. Maybe they have some kind of new program to make these customer contacts. Not pushy or selling at this point, just "can I help you with anything".

These days, a call out of the blue like that would make me think "scam" or "phishing" or similar. Was the rep able to convince you of his identity as a FIDO rep?

 

[Koolau]

Our guy was trying to be helpful, but I not certain that he fully understood the intricacies of the ACA and MAGI limits. It's one thing to know the ACA model and a completely different thing to know the specific income levels that offer the best value in each state.

His focus seemed to be on rolling over part of our 401k to a cd/bond ladder for Fidelity to manage for 40 basis points. To make up for the loss of ERISA protections, he suggested that we increase our umbrella coverage limits. Both ideas will cost me money. However, a cd/bond ladder will eliminate principal risk and potentially make more money long term than our current mm/stable value options since I do not like bond funds.

I'm not going to train the Fidelity rep. It's like getting stopped by the cops...the less you say, the less ammo they have to eventually use to sell you something.

It seems most times I speak with an agent these days, whether a financial type like Vanguard or my 401(k) custodian or an insurance rep like at Mass Mutual or my on-line pharmacy, I have to tell them about something that THEY should know. It's frustrating. And, yeah, it feels like I'm educating them rather than the other way round.

 

[sengsational]

These days, a call out of the blue like that would make me think "scam" or "phishing" or similar. Was the rep able to convince you of his identity as a FIDO rep?

It's smart to be on the defensive when they ring you, that's for sure. They called on my cell number and my phone has been good about not ringing (giving them the prompt to say who they are and why they're calling for which I get an instant transcript). That didn't happen in this case, and it said "Fidelity - validated" or something like that when the phone started ringing. But given they can put whatever they want in the caller field, I was still suspicious. But he had some basics that made it clear he was legit.

 

[Koolau]

It's smart to be on the defensive when they ring you, that's for sure. They called on my cell number and my phone has been good about not ringing (giving them the prompt to say who they are and why they're calling for which I get an instant transcript). That didn't happen in this case, and it said "Fidelity - validated" or something like that when the phone started ringing. But given they can put whatever they want in the caller field, I was still suspicious. But he had some basics that made it clear he was legit.

Heh, heh, do what all the Big Houses do when WE call THEM. Ask for the last 4 digits of their SSN. That should freak them out.


I would think FIDO, Vanguard, etc. would have SOME system like that to make a phone call more safe. Not sure what form it would take, but something to insure that it's not a scam.

 

[sengsational]

One form it often takes is "my voice is my password", which I prefer over getting asked the rather insecure name, address, "last 4", and other such public information.

 

[jazz4cash]

Unless you give up info, taking these cals won’t harm you. If it’s a legit call or a spoof, just don’t give up any info. When Fido calls me all they ever want is an in person mtg. My phone only rings if the number is in my contacts list. The scammers almost never leave a voicemail message.