Dear Mr. Berko: I’m a 71-year-old widow. I’m seeking safe, high income, and I can afford some modest risk. My husband passed away in 2009, and I’ve done a fairly good job managing our $637,000 portfolio. Last year, I found a new young stockbroker who seems to have a good head on his shoulders. I have about $21,000 to invest, and he recommends 300 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust and 200 shares of Dominion Energy, which you recommended last month. Please tell me what you think of the former stock. I know your thoughts on Dominion.
My biggest problem is my husband’s old broker, who works for another firm. He calls me once a week to try to bring the account back and insists the market is headed for a crash in a few years. He is a nice man, but he’s one of these men who think women are inferior and can’t do things for themselves. How can I stop him from calling me and still be nice to him?
— F.S., Indianapolis
Dear F.S.: Call the manager of his firm and tell him that this guy is bothering you. His calls should end as abruptly as a rabbit’s tail. If he continues calling, don’t be nice. Tell him you will file a harassment suit. By the way, I call my wife “my better three-quarters,” and she is.
You were lucky to find a good young man who still recommends common stocks rather than that proprietary junk sold by most new brokers. Meanwhile, I doubt the market will crash in a few years. Rather, I think it could run to 30,000 by the time you’re 80. So the brokerage industry is on a hiring spree. And the newly minted brokers draining from the training programs of Merrill Lynch, UBS, Edward Jones and Ameriprise are worth about a dime a dozen. For the past decade, these NMBs have evolved into corporate cyborgs — programmed to sell annuities, mutual funds, private limited partnerships and high-commission proprietary products. Most of these NMBs think a blue chip is worth $10 in a poker game, an “interest rate” is a Nielsen rating and common stocks are animals that belong on a farm.
