Meet Jean Lee, CFP® CRPC™

Is there anything I need to do?

Yes. You will need to sign some new account paperwork, advisory agreements, money movement and transfer paperwork in order for me to open accounts, transfer assets and continue managing your portfolio. I will send most of these documents to you for electronic signature, but some may require you to print and sign and scan the documents back to me.

What if I have questions regarding the documentation I receive?

The information used to prepare the documents you receive is information I have in my files. If you have any questions or would like to make updates to any of the information, please let me know. In some cases, such as your years of investment experience and your net worth percentage breakdown, I may round the years or percentages to the nearest 5 or 10 years or percent. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Jean, why did you decide to make this change to LPL?

Because I’m independent, I have choices as to what entities I may use to help support me in my efforts to serve you, and I’m constantly looking for ways to improve upon all the services I provide.

This new affiliation with LPL will simply allow me to delegate much of the paperwork and regulatory duties to them and to my new extended partners, rather than having to handle all of that on my own.  In this industry, there is a LOT of required paperwork that is normally handled by a back-office support staff.  LPL can take over those tasks for me, so that my focus can remain solely on meeting with each you personally, with the goal of providing you with the best financial advice to help you meet your retirement objectives.

It’s similar to this: a doctor works best when seeing his or her patients all day, and dispensing medical advice to each individual based on their needs.  Getting bogged down in medical and insurance paperwork is an onerous task that’s best done by a team of professionals who specialize in those areas.  In that regard, I’ve decided to allow a team of professionals to take care of the back-office work for me as well.          

I firmly believe they will be valuable partners with me going forward.

Will my investments change?

No. Your investments will electronically transfer to LPL. My advice and how I manage your portfolios will also remain the same.

Will my brokerage fees change?

You will likely see a different fee schedule for brokerage-related costs, such as trading costs or IRA fees. Some account-specific fees may be higher or lower. I believe overall my clients will experience lower total costs.

Will my distributions change?

No. While you will need to sign new paperwork to update your distributions to the new broker dealer, no other changes will occur.

Will my advisory fees change?

Generally no. I’ve arranged for my portfolios to move to LPL as they are and negotiated similar client level fees.

Will I have to sign new documents?

Yes. You will need to sign new account paperwork, advisory agreements and transfer paperwork in order for me to continue managing your portfolio. I will send most of these documents to you for electronic signature, but some may require you to print and sign and scan the documents back to me.

Will my statements change?

Yes. Once your account is opened and transferred from Merrill Lynch to LPL, you will begin receiving new statements from LPL. For business held direct, the statement will remain the same (from the sponsor or carrier) but the name of the Broker/Dealer will be updated to LPL. As accounts transfer, you will receive statements from Merrill Lynch showing your account value is zero and a new statement from LPL showing the value of your accounts. The timing of these statements can be different by a few days.

Will I begin receiving information from LPL?

Yes. Once an account is established at LPL for you, you will begin receiving regulatory and disclosure notifications from LPL regarding the account(s) opened, your document settings, changes made to information on your account, the transfer of assets and more. You can review the information listed and contact me with any questions you may have.

How do I get access to my accounts at LPL online?

My team will help you establish your online access once the transition is complete, or, if you’d like to set up access sooner, once one account has been opened for you, you can go to www.myaccountviewonline.com and click Sign Up, enter the information requested and follow the prompts to establish your account.

If I have set up a direct deposit or electronic funds to transfer from my bank account or elsewhere to my Merrill Lynch account, do I need to do anything?          

If I set the transfer up from Merrill Lynch, then the new paperwork I send you will change these instructions. If, however, you set this transfer up directly with your bank, using your banks forms, please contact me and I’ll discuss with you what steps should be taken to change the funds transfer to your new LPL account. If you’re not sure, feel free to contact me to review the instructions.