Can your investment representative be cheating you out of your profits?

Question

I invest in mutual funds with a group I will leave anonymous. I just started. I know that mutual funds are like stocks and any other investment there's a chance you can lose money. However, is it possible the representatives can be storing away any profits that you did make into their account and making it look like you lost money from the investment? If so, I might just go to saving money from the bear market point of view. Savings bonds, Certificate of Deposits, savings account, and any other sure profit investments rather than these unpredictable and shady investments strategies. What do you think? Make money the old fashioned way and just save it?

Answer 1

make sure your statements are coming directly from your mutual fund company, they should mail those to you on a regular basis. make sure when you make a depost into your account the check is made out directly to the mutual fund company, not to your broker or his company. make sure the address on your statements is your address. if you do these things, nearly impossible for him to be stealing money from you. investing inthe stock market and mutual funds is 10 time better than putting your money in the bank. you need to have some money in the bank for emergencies and spending money, but that is about it. invest as much as you can each and every month. if you are a good saver and patient, you will be a great investor.

Answer 2

Yes, by selling you funds that charge you a 5.75% upfront fee and also have a 1% or 2% annual sales charge and putting you into funds that have high expense charges. All of these fees reduce your rate of return and can cause a loss.
If the sales person feels like they want to earn more they will have you sell one fund family and have you buy into another so that the fees start over again.