Never Again: A Story to Read

Last summer, my family met up in Belgrade. Miss Em had been teaching English on a Fulbright in Novi Pazar , Serbia. It was an emotional trip for me. My mother and her family had passed through Belgrade in 1938 on their way to the United States from Vienna. In Belgrade lived one of my grandmother's sisters, who had married a Serbian man, Nicky Petrovic.

We met one of our few relatives there: Ildi Ivanji, the widow of my mother's first cousin George. Amazingly, she still  lives in the same house once owned by Nicky and Julchi Petrovic (my grandmother's sister). Though somewhat decrepit, it is an elegant home with still elegant furniture.

 Ildi is in her 80s. She had a distinguished career as a journalist and writer. She was imprisoned  in two concentration camps as a child, Terezin, which had a large population of artists and children, 90% of whom died there, and Bergen-Belsen, where Anne Frank died. Her parents--both doctors--were shot by the Nazis in mass killings.

 Ildi's brother Ivan Ivanji, also survived the war. He too was in two concentration camps. He is quite a distinguished writer and was Tito's translator. 

We met Ivan and his wife at Ildi's house. Communication was difficult because he speaks German and a number of East European languages, but not much English or French, the languages of our family. 

Ivan is a survivor of Auschwitz, whose liberation is being commemorated today. Little of his writing has been translated into English. I found only a very short piece, which is autobiographical. It doesn't read like a translation and is both beautiful and painful to read. Please read Games on the Banks of the Danube.

THANK YOU ALL

Thanks to all who replied to my panicky call for help in coming to terms with my mother's broker. It is painful to witness the process whereby she has been--and is being--manipulated by this man. 

I am amazed that my little blog, which has a very small footprint in the big world of blogging, should attract people so willing to share their expertise. It means a lot to me that my misgivings and suspicions have been corroborated by others.

My father, whose death propelled my mother within a few weeks into the "arms" of a broker to whom she gave total control of her assets, would, I am sure be horrified. I began this blog a few months before my father's sudden and unexpected death. In rather ironic timing on the part of the universe, my father died in November 2008, in the midst of panic about the Great Recession, revelations about Bernard Madoff, and an uncertain future for many.  My father and I had, to be plain, a terrible relationship, which still pains me to  contemplate.  But he was very good at finances and enjoyed managing his money. I learned a lot from watching my frugal dad. 

"Answers" from Mom's Broker:?????

Finally got answers from the broker. I'm not sure if they are answers. They seem rather vague. The item that gives me pause is that he engaged in 188 trades in 2014. That seems excessive, no? Any purpose beyond generating fees?

Anyone with any expertise: I would appreciate advice. I tend to be a suspicious person. Still, one investment trade every two days. My mother mentioned that his trading "went down" this year.

Thanks for any help!

My initial questions:


1. What specifically are xxx 's holdings? For instance, there is a category TIAACREF--what are the specific holdings under that rubric?

ANSWER: 

1) TIAA Cref account is a moderate aggressive allocation which is composed of equities diversified across and within asset classes .

     Also diversified across sectors and industries . Many of the holdings have dividends of 2-5 percent to add to the total return. The account

     typically has 50k-150K set aside in order to buy stocks when the market drops abruptly while hedging the portfolio .

 Not very specific imo

2. What isxxx's asset allocation? 

 The overall asset allocation is a moderate allocation. Typically 20- 35 percent in cash . With the remaining portion in equities and

     closed end bond funds. The equity trading takes place in the IRA accounts for tax efficiency. The Taxable accounts are passively

     managed to avoid short term capital gains. Of the  65-75 percent invested in equities there is about 10-20 percent Fixed income or

     stocks with high yields.

VAGUE?

3. For stock holdings: what percentage is in mutual funds and what percentage is in individual stocks?

NO ANSWER

4. What percentage of xxx's assets is in IRAs and similar pretax vehicles? What percentage is in post-tax?

NO ANSWER

5. What kind of turnover does her portfolio have? How many sells/buys have been engaged in?  What are her total transaction/investment expenses for 2014? 2013? 2012?

 2014 there were about 188 trades which was less than xx percent of the total portfolio or approx. 9,500.

This seems INSANE TO ME. Does this amount of trading constitute CHURNING?

6. What is her total return for 2014? 2013? 2012?

 2012 net return 12 percent. ( This includes xxxwithdrawn)

    2013 net return 14 percent ( This includes xxxx withdrawn)

    2014 net return 6  percent ( This includes xxx

withdrawn)

You Want to Watch My Daughter on Serbian Television, Right?

Thanks to all for helpful comments on my latest crisis, Mom's broker. The situation is getting closer to resolution. I HOPE.

And here, apropos of nothing relevant to this blog, is a clip from Mondo Television, featuring my artist daughter, who was supposed to return from Serbia  at the end of January, but has now decided to stay till the end of July.

So not one, but both my kids have been on television this year. That's really weird.