Welcome to Wunderlich Wealth Management!

Transcription

1 Welcome to Wunderlich Wealth Management! We are pleased to welcome Dominick & Dominick clients, advisors and associates to the Wunderlich Securities family. Effective January 23, 2015, D&D client accounts transferred to the Wunderlich platform. Your D&D financial advisor is now able to provide access to enhanced services and capabilities available through Wunderlich Wealth Management. Learn more about the changes that have taken place with your account by clicking on any of the topics listed below: What took place when your account transferred to Wunderlich When to begin using your new checks and/or debit card How to access your accounts online Changes to statements and trade confirmations Tax reporting documents for 2014 and 2015 Are fees and charges changing How are Wunderlich accounts protected Should you have additional questions, please contact your D&D financial advisor.

2 THE TRANSFER OF YOUR ACCOUNT TO WUNDERLICH The account transfer process involved moving your account from Dominick & Dominick s clearing firm, Pershing LLC, to Wunderlich s clearing firm, First Clearing LLC. You received a detailed explanation of this process in an Account Transfer Information Packet sent by D&D in December The transfer of accounts occurred automatically on January 23, 2015, unless you took action to opt out of this process. No D&D accounts remain on the Pershing platform. No fees were assessed for these transfers. If you have not yet returned the account agreement and any forms provided in the Account Transfer Packet, please do so immediately. Cash Balance Options: As part of this transfer, existing cash sweep instructions remain in place and, going forward, any cash balances will be swept to a comparable money market fund offered through Wunderlich. If your previous account swept to an FDIC- insured option, cash balances will now be swept to our Bank Deposit Sweep Program. Detailed information about your new sweep option, including objectives, expenses and fees, was provided in the Account Transfer Packet. Contact your D&D financial advisor if you d like to switch to the Bank Deposit Sweep Program which offers FDIC protection for up to $750,000 in cash balances. Custodial Accounts: The custodian for your retirement accounts (IRA; SEP and Roth IRA) has changed from Pershing to First Clearing as a result of this transfer. IMPORTANT DATES RELATED TO YOUR NEW CHECKS AND/OR DEBIT CARD If you previously used checks and/or a debit card with your D&D account, you will receive replacement checks and card(s) associated with your new account through First Clearing. Please note these important dates related to these items: 1/23/2015 Begin using your First Clearing checks as soon as received. If checks have not arrived by January 26, 2015, alert your financial advisor immediately. Discontinue using your previous checks at this time and destroy any remaining checks. Checks written on your previous account prior to the conversion will be honored until February 6, Checks presented after this date will be denied on the Pershing system. 1/23/2015 Automatic bill payments previously facilitated through the Pershing system will be discontinued as of January 23. Bill payment services are offered through your new Wunderlich account. To continue this service, you will need to register for online access Page 2 of 6

3 and follow instructions provided there to schedule future payments. 1/23/2015 Discontinue using your existing debit card by 5:00 pm ET on January 23 rd charges made after this time will not be honored. Destroy the previous card. You may begin using your new Wunderlich card on January 27, /23/2015 Advise any institutions that send ACH payments (such as direct payroll deposit or Social Security payments) directly to your account that payment instructions have changed. To do so, you will need to share new bank routing information and your new brokerage account number, available from your D&D advisor. Click here to view detailed instructions. 1/27/2015 Begin using your new debit card no earlier than January 27. If your card has not arrived by January 26, alert your financial advisor immediately. ACCESSING YOUR NEW ACCOUNT ONLINE Wunderlich offers a robust online portal where you may view up-to-date information on all of your accounts. You may enroll in Access Online beginning Sunday, January 25. Once registered, you will have the option to request electronic delivery of statements and confirms, set up bill pay arrangements, and activate other useful features through the online account access system. Learn more about the features of our online access service by taking a tour of the site. When registering for Access Online, you will first need to create a secure User ID and Password. To get started, take the Account Log In link from any page on the D&D or Wunderlich websites, select the Sign Up option, and follow the instructions provided there to enroll for online access to your accounts. You may also wish to review these step-by-step instructions of the registration process. Should you have questions or experience technical issues, contact the Access Online dedicated support desk at This number is also provided for reference on the website. CHANGES TO YOUR STATEMENTS AND TRADE CONFIRMATIONS In early February, you will receive two January statements for each account. One will come from Pershing and will show any trade activity through January 23 rd and the subsequent transfer of assets out Page 3 of 6

4 of this account. The other statement will come from Wunderlich and will show the receipt of transferred assets into your new account, as well as any activity that takes place from January Starting in March, you will receive regular month-end statements and confirmations only on your new Wunderlich account. Certain clients may receive a February statement from Pershing if any residual dividends, interest or other activity occurs in your previous account after assets are transferred. Any such activity will automatically be routed to your new account. All clients will receive printed statements by mail for January month end. You may enroll for electronic delivery of statements and confirms through our online account access system once your account has transferred to Wunderlich. If you own a special product account such as a mutual fund or annuity that was purchased through D&D and is held directly at the issuer, statements that were previously provided by the issuer will continue in the same manner, if applicable. However, Wunderlich will request that the broker/dealer of record be changed to Wunderlich. Any documentation required to make this change will be sent separately by the issuer. Contact your D&D financial advisor for help with accessing historical statements. TAX REPORTING DOCUMENTS FOR 2014 AND tax reporting documents (Form 1099) will be issued and mailed to you by Pershing and will reference your previous Dominick & Dominick account. For 2015, tax reporting for activity occurring after the January 23, 2015 conversion date will be provided by Wunderlich. More details about delivery and timing of these documents will be available at the end of the year. If any taxable activity/events occur between January 1 23, 2015, you may also receive separate tax documents for this limited period from Pershing in reference to your previous Dominick & Dominick account. WUNDERLICH ACCOUNT FEES As with your D&D account, fees may apply to some account services available through Wunderlich. Please review our current fee schedule and contact your D&D advisor for more information related to specific fees which may apply to your new account. Page 4 of 6

5 HOW WUNDERLICH ACCOUNTS ARE PROTECTED Wunderlich Securities, along with the financial industry in general, has many safeguards in place to protect investor assets. Both Wunderlich and our clearing firm, First Clearing, LLC, are members of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) which protects client assets in the event of an investment firm s insolvency. First Clearing provides additional coverage beyond the SIPC limits for all accounts, and certain investments are also protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). First Clearing is backed by the vast resources of one of the industry s largest financial companies, Wells Fargo. More detailed descriptions of these protections follow. YOUR INVESTMENTS ARE HELD SEPARATELY FROM OUR OPERATIONS The securities industry in the United States is heavily regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to help ensure that investment accounts are a safe and accessible place for individuals, families and businesses to place money they wish to invest. One of the most important ways that client assets held in investment firms are protected is through the segregation of assets. The SEC s Customer Protection Rule requires that all fully-paid client securities be held separately from the investment firm s own assets and are not available for firm use. The rule ensures that if an investment firm experiences losses, investor assets are not affected. Per industry regulations, only when an investor has pledged securities as collateral against a margin loan may the investment have access to those pledged securities. For this to occur, you must establish a margin account through a written agreement which includes a detailed description of potential risks. Otherwise, we must keep your funds and investments separate from any of our assets, and may not use them for any purpose. SIPC PROTECTION The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) protects clients in the event a member investment firm becomes insolvent by replacing missing securities and cash up to $500,000, including up to $250,000 in cash, per client, in accordance with SIPC rules. SIPC coverage is not the same as, nor is it a substitute for, FDIC deposit insurance and only the Bank Deposit Sweep Program is covered by the FDIC. For more information about SIPC, please visit sipc.org. ADDITIONAL INSURANCE COVERAGE PROVIDED TO OUR CLIENTS Above and beyond SIPC coverage, First Clearing maintains additional insurance coverage provided through Lexington Insurance Company, an AIG Company. For clients who have received the full SIPC payout limit, First Clearing s policy with Lexington provides additional coverage above the SIPC limits for any missing securities and cash in client investment accounts, up to a clearing firm s aggregate limit of $1 billion (including up to $1.9 million for cash per client). In other words, the aggregate amount of all client losses covered under this policy are subject to a limit of $1 billion with each client covered up to $1.9 million for cash. Page 5 of 6

6 ABOUT LEXINGTON INSURANCE COMPANY Lexington Insurance Company is the leading U.S.-based surplus lines insurer. As of December 1, 2013, Lexington s financial strength ratings are A+ from Standard & Poor s, A1 from Moody s and A from Fitch Ratings and A.M. Best. For more information about Lexington, please visit lexingtoninsurance.com. THE LIMITS OF SIPC AND LEXINGTON S INSURANCE COMPANY Please note that neither SIPC nor excess SIPC coverage provided through Lexington protects against loss of market value of securities. All coverage is subject to the specific policy terms and conditions. FDIC INSURANCE APPLIES TO BANK DEPOSIT SWEEP PROGRAM FDIC insurance coverage is provided on assets held in First Clearing s Bank Deposit Sweep Program, our convenient automated service that sweeps all cash and uninvested balances to FDIC insured bank affiliates. FDIC insurance covers a depositor for $250,000 for all cash and uninvested balances at a participating institution. First Clearing s Bank Deposit Sweep Program sweeps a maximum $250,000 in cash balances to as many as three affiliate banks, providing up to a maximum of $750,000 of FDIC coverage for individual accounts (higher limits may be available for joint and trust/tod accounts depending on the number of owners/beneficiaries). AS ALWAYS, YOUR D&D FINANCIAL ADVISOR IS AVAILABLE TO ASSIST WITH ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE RELATED TO YOUR NEW WUNDERLICH ACCOUNT. Page 6 of 6