Can an advisor from The Mutual Fund Store® review my investments?

Yes. If you are not a client of The Mutual Fund Store® (TMFS) and have more than $50,000 in investment assets, you may contact an advisor in the TMFS location nearest you to ask for a review of your current portfolio. You’ll need to provide copies of the most recent statements for your brokerage and individual retirement accounts (IRA), excluding any assets you own in a retirement plan account through your employer. Please use the ‘I’m Interested In Becoming A Client’ button on the front page of this web site to start the process.

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Could Adam Bold manage my investment portfolio?

Adam is Chief Investment Officer of The Mutual Fund Research Center® (TMFRC). His responsibilities include providing a list of recommended mutual funds to advisors in every TMFS location. The list of funds includes multiple options in many different asset class categories (i.e., large cap growth, corporate bonds, etc.) and is utilized by each advisor when creating a portfolio for clients. If, or when, changes are necessary in the list of recommended funds, Adam makes recommendations for suitable replacements. Additionally, Adam creates asset allocation models for advisors’ use in creating an investment plan. The answers provided by clients to questions designed to measure their investment time horizon and goals and ability to tolerate market risk allow each advisor to utilize the proper asset mix provided in Adam’s allocation models.

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I’ve heard Adam refer to a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). What is a Registered Investment Adviser? How is that different, if at all, from a stock broker?

The Mutual Fund Store® is a fee-based financial services company, commonly known as a registered investment advisor. Each office of The Mutual Fund Store® (TMFS) is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and/or the state in which it is located. While a stock broker (registered representative) may charge fees rather than, or in addition to, commissions, he or she does not operate under the same laws regarding ongoing fiduciary responsibilities to his or her clients. In general, under U.S. law, investment advisors owe their clients an ongoing fiduciary duty to provide full and complete disclosure of all fees, conflicts of interest, and if so authorized, to exercise discretion in selecting investments with only their clients’ best interests in mind. Stock brokers on the other hand, typically do not have fiduciary obligations. Their obligation is usually limited to the appropriateness of a specific recommendation to purchase or sell a security. Stock brokers normally are not required by rule or regulation to continue to monitor that security which may have been purchased as a result of their recommendation. TMFS advisors conduct regular and ongoing monitoring of client accounts and make adjustments in client portfolios when necessitated by changes in recommended fund performance, asset allocation models, and changes in client goals and circumstances.

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How much does it cost for The Mutual Fund Store® to provide investment advice and manage my assets?

The Mutual Fund Store®’s all-inclusive, quarterly fee can range from 0.375 percent (.00375) to 0.225 percent (.00225) depending on the amount of assets under management. The fee includes everything from investment advice to account maintenance to monthly statements, but does not include internal fund management fees commonly assessed by mutual fund companies on all shareholders. Some fund companies may also charge a short-term redemption fee and/or transaction fees in certain circumstances. Please consult a prospectus for more details on the fund company fees and expenses. Additionally, commissions may be charged to liquidate individual stocks or bonds held in your prior accounts before a TMFS advisor can begin management of your assets.

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Where are my assets held if I open an account with The Mutual Fund Store?

All The Mutual Fund Store® client accounts are held in custody at Schwab Institutional (Schwab), the professional investment manager division of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. As custodian, Schwab shares recordkeeping responsibility for your accounts and generates monthly account statements in addition to the quarterly statements produced by The Mutual Fund Store®. Schwab, which serves more than 5,000 independent investment advisors and more than 1 million client accounts, has formed teams in its mutual fund trading and client service departments specifically devoted to working with TMFS advisors and clients.

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How do I get my password for the Clients Only section?

Only The Mutual Fund Store® advisors are authorized to provide passwords to clients. Please contact your advisor to request user name and password information. If you do not know your advisor’s name, please use this link -- http://www.mutualfundstore.com/contact/existclient_1.asp -- to send an e-mail requesting access to the Clients Only section. You’ll need to enter your zip code at the link above in order to get routed to your advisor’s contact page.

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What is the phone number for The Mutual Fund Store?

Each TMFS location has its own phone number. Please click on this link -- http://www.mutualfundstore.com/contact/office_locator_landing.asp -- to locate the city nearest your home in which a TMFS store is located. After you enter your zip code, contact information for the nearest location will come up on your screen, including address, phone number, general directions, and a link to a Yahoo map.

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What is the service Adam has mentioned on his radio show that makes allocation recommendations to individuals for their accounts in company-sponsored retirement plans?

Adam serves as Chief Investment Officer for Smart401k®, a financial services company and a SEC registered investment adviser which offers expertise to individuals wanting professional help in evaluating the investment choices and managing the assets in their company-sponsored retirement plan accounts. Smart401k® is similar to The Mutual Fund Store® in that it makes specific security and asset allocation recommendations based on a person’s investment goals and time horizon in addition to ability to tolerate risk. Unlike TMFS, however, Smart401k® can not control which securities are available to you through your company retirement plan. Its advisors make recommendations based on the securities available in the plan selected by your employer.

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When are the online shows posted?

The online version of The Mutual Fund Show® is edited down from three, one-hour shows broadcast every Saturday. Adam does the same market commentary each hour so that is only included once. Redundant calls are removed (such as two people asking about the same fund). An interview that might air in each hour is edited down to one interview for the web site. The online version omits Adam giving out the toll-free number and doing other on-air “housekeeping” tasks. Also, some of the commentary on specific funds is edited for inclusion in the Fund Information archive on the website. This editing can be somewhat labor intensive and time consuming. We do our best to have it all edited and posted by Tuesday morning at the latest, but usually have everything online by close of business Monday.

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How come some of the calls on the radio show are different from the online version of the show?

The online version of The Mutual Fund Show® is condensed down to about one hour from the three hours that are broadcast each Saturday. The online version is shorter to make it a highlight package of the live show, removing redundant calls or calls that would have a very limited appeal. If the online version omits a call that addressed a question of particular interest to you, please contact your local Mutual Fund Store and an advisor there likely will be able to answer it for you.

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When will podcasts be available on this web site?

At this time, because of Federal and state securities laws, podcasts of The Mutual Fund Show are not planned. Regulations require us to maintain strict control of the content of the show, specifically the disclosure language Adam Bold reads at the beginning and end of each show. Available technology does not allow us to embed the disclosures in any file format to prevent them from being erased.

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