Revdex.com, IncBroadway, Suite 625Oakland, CA
Re: ID *** *** ***
Dear *** **
Thank you for your letter dated July 24, We appreciate hearing our clients’ experiences and having the opportunity to respond to themWe will be contacting the
client to resolve this matter
In this case, the former client states that he opened three self-directed IRAs on or about 12/with Entrust Mid-South, a former franchisee of The Entrust GroupWhen The Entrust Group stopped its franchise program, these accounts were transferred to The Entrust GroupThe client states that after waiting five years, he started to close the accounts to withdraw the fundsFor the first account closed,*** *** received a check in the amount of roughly $4,000, the full amount of funds held by the account at the time.*** *** later closed the two other accounts he had and was sent two checks in the amount of $3,These two checks included the accounts’ full value less a $termination fee per accountThe client states that he was never told of a closing fee and that he had not paid one on the account he previously closed.
At The Entrust Group, each new client signs a fee disclosure when they open an account which clearly states the termination fee of $When*** *** transferred the account from Entrust Mid South to The Entrust Group, he was sent the appropriate documentation which included The Entrust Group’s fee disclosureThe client stated that he never got charged a termination fee of $for the first account he closed with us, and we realize this was a mistake on our part
We regret that this mistake occurred This led to the confusion of the client on the consistency of termination fees chargesWe will gladly refund MrMarinko the $he desired to resolve this issueWe sincerely apologize to the client for the time and effort he expended.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond.Sincerely,
The Entrust Group, Inc
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2015/06/16) */
June 16,
Ms*** ***
Dispute Resolution Specialist
Revdex.com
Broadway, Suite
Oakland, CA XXXXX
RE: Case # *** *** ***
Dear Ms***
Thank you for your letter dated June 3,
We appreciate hearing our clients' experiences and being provided an opportunity to respond to themWe have not contacted the client in an effort to resolve this matter
With regard to the client's assertion that our account termination fee of $is "outrageous", we respectfully disagree from several standpoints that we will try to address hereTo begin, one must understand our industry, which is that of administering self-directed retirement plans
Self-directed retirement plans are comprised primarily of IRAs and 401(k) plans through which the client invests in alternative assets such as real estate, private company stock and notes (loans)As every transaction is unique and requires individual review, these types of investments require far greater labor and involve significantly greater risk to the custodian administering them than do more traditional investments such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds, the trading of which is entirely automated
To perform a reasonable and fair comparison on fees for self-directed IRAs, one only has to view other companies offering the same services as EntrustDoing so will show that while fees vary, generally speaking Entrust's are "middle of the road"; i.e., some companies have higher fees than Entrust, some lowerDrilling down specifically to account termination fees, an examination of three of the largest and most prominent companies in the industry will show their own account termination fees ranging from a low of $to a high of $Even the company the client states he is transferring his account to will charge him $for their account termination feeThis is extremely low in the industry, but based on the client's letter would still be deemed quite unreasonable
Further, Entrust's administration fees are charged to clients on a quarterly basisHowever, during the account's final quarter, no pro rata charge is assessed to the client (this is something the client might wish to investigate in any new custodian to which he might consider transferring his account)Depending upon the assets held by the client, this waiver of the final quarter's fees can range from a low of $to a high of $This is the reason a termination fee is in place
Finally, our account termination fee is transparent to all clients, appearing in large font in the center of our Fee Schedule provided to every prospective client prior to their establishing an account with EntrustIf the fee were disagreeable, it should have been determined at that time, prior to his account's establishmentIt should be noted that for a seven year period following his initial investment, all of this client's administration fees were paid for by his investment providerThe agreement made by that investment provider with the client was that at the end of those seven years, which occurred in 2011, the client would be solely responsible for his own fees based upon our Fee Schedule in effectFor the sake of transparency, Entrust's account termination fee at the time this client established his account was $This appeared very clearly on our Fee Schedule at that time and he either knew or should have known that this termination fee would apply in the event his investment duration exceeded the seven year period committed to by his investment providerOur current Fee Schedule is posted on and easily downloadable to clients and non-clients alike via our website, www.theentrustgroup.com
For the reasons stated above, Entrust will not waive the account termination fee
Thank you for the opportunity to respond
Sincerely,
The Entrust Group, Inc
Thank you for your letter we received October 14, 2016. We appreciate hearing of our clients’ experiences and being provided an opportunity to respond to them.
In an effort to evaluate the issues raised, we performed a complete review of the client’s account, including all...
associated transactions, fees and correspondence. Here is a summary of the issues.
The client claims that he communicated to Entrust that the fair market value of the asset held in his account should have been revised to $0.00 as of July 1, 2015. This was attested to by the founder of the entity in which his funds were invested. He also claims that Entrust continued to mail invoices to him, despite the market value documentation he submitted and despite his requests to us that the account be closed.
With regard to the asset’s fair market value, the client did submit valid fair market value documentation September, 2015, that should have resulted in our marking the asset value to $0.00. At that time, the process of reviewing asset fair market values was in transition to an out of state location, and we failed to process the client’s request. This was our error. A second submission of the asset value was also made but in error was again not processed.
Entrust did also continue to mail invoices to the client, assessing quarterly fees based on the incorrect account value. These invoices should not have been sent and have been reversed. The true balance due on the account – for fees assessed prior to the re-valuing of the account - is $293.50. Entrust is waiving these fees, along with the account termination fee, such that the balance due on the account as of today is $0.00. The asset’s value has also been marked to $0.00 and his account closed. No further invoices will be sent.
We regret that these mistakes occurred, and are pleased to say our processing of valuations has been vastly improved over the past few months. We sincerely apologize to the client for the time and effort he expended.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond.
Sincerely,
Revdex.com, IncBroadway, Suite 625Oakland, CA
Re: ID *** *** ***
Dear *** **
Thank you for your letter dated July 24, We appreciate hearing our clients’ experiences and having the opportunity to respond to themWe will be contacting the
client to resolve this matter
In this case, the former client states that he opened three self-directed IRAs on or about 12/with Entrust Mid-South, a former franchisee of The Entrust GroupWhen The Entrust Group stopped its franchise program, these accounts were transferred to The Entrust GroupThe client states that after waiting five years, he started to close the accounts to withdraw the fundsFor the first account closed,*** *** received a check in the amount of roughly $4,000, the full amount of funds held by the account at the time.*** *** later closed the two other accounts he had and was sent two checks in the amount of $3,These two checks included the accounts’ full value less a $termination fee per accountThe client states that he was never told of a closing fee and that he had not paid one on the account he previously closed.
At The Entrust Group, each new client signs a fee disclosure when they open an account which clearly states the termination fee of $When*** *** transferred the account from Entrust Mid South to The Entrust Group, he was sent the appropriate documentation which included The Entrust Group’s fee disclosureThe client stated that he never got charged a termination fee of $for the first account he closed with us, and we realize this was a mistake on our part
We regret that this mistake occurred This led to the confusion of the client on the consistency of termination fees chargesWe will gladly refund MrMarinko the $he desired to resolve this issueWe sincerely apologize to the client for the time and effort he expended.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond.Sincerely,
The Entrust Group, Inc
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2015/06/16) */
June 16,
Ms*** ***
Dispute Resolution Specialist
Revdex.com
Broadway, Suite
Oakland, CA XXXXX
RE: Case # *** *** ***
Dear Ms***
Thank you for your letter dated June 3,
We appreciate hearing our clients' experiences and being provided an opportunity to respond to themWe have not contacted the client in an effort to resolve this matter
With regard to the client's assertion that our account termination fee of $is "outrageous", we respectfully disagree from several standpoints that we will try to address hereTo begin, one must understand our industry, which is that of administering self-directed retirement plans
Self-directed retirement plans are comprised primarily of IRAs and 401(k) plans through which the client invests in alternative assets such as real estate, private company stock and notes (loans)As every transaction is unique and requires individual review, these types of investments require far greater labor and involve significantly greater risk to the custodian administering them than do more traditional investments such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds, the trading of which is entirely automated
To perform a reasonable and fair comparison on fees for self-directed IRAs, one only has to view other companies offering the same services as EntrustDoing so will show that while fees vary, generally speaking Entrust's are "middle of the road"; i.e., some companies have higher fees than Entrust, some lowerDrilling down specifically to account termination fees, an examination of three of the largest and most prominent companies in the industry will show their own account termination fees ranging from a low of $to a high of $Even the company the client states he is transferring his account to will charge him $for their account termination feeThis is extremely low in the industry, but based on the client's letter would still be deemed quite unreasonable
Further, Entrust's administration fees are charged to clients on a quarterly basisHowever, during the account's final quarter, no pro rata charge is assessed to the client (this is something the client might wish to investigate in any new custodian to which he might consider transferring his account)Depending upon the assets held by the client, this waiver of the final quarter's fees can range from a low of $to a high of $This is the reason a termination fee is in place
Finally, our account termination fee is transparent to all clients, appearing in large font in the center of our Fee Schedule provided to every prospective client prior to their establishing an account with EntrustIf the fee were disagreeable, it should have been determined at that time, prior to his account's establishmentIt should be noted that for a seven year period following his initial investment, all of this client's administration fees were paid for by his investment providerThe agreement made by that investment provider with the client was that at the end of those seven years, which occurred in 2011, the client would be solely responsible for his own fees based upon our Fee Schedule in effectFor the sake of transparency, Entrust's account termination fee at the time this client established his account was $This appeared very clearly on our Fee Schedule at that time and he either knew or should have known that this termination fee would apply in the event his investment duration exceeded the seven year period committed to by his investment providerOur current Fee Schedule is posted on and easily downloadable to clients and non-clients alike via our website, www.theentrustgroup.com
For the reasons stated above, Entrust will not waive the account termination fee
Thank you for the opportunity to respond
Sincerely,
The Entrust Group, Inc
Thank you for your letter we received October 14, 2016. We appreciate hearing of our clients’ experiences and being provided an opportunity to respond to them.
In an effort to evaluate the issues raised, we performed a complete review of the client’s account, including all...
associated transactions, fees and correspondence. Here is a summary of the issues.
The client claims that he communicated to Entrust that the fair market value of the asset held in his account should have been revised to $0.00 as of July 1, 2015. This was attested to by the founder of the entity in which his funds were invested. He also claims that Entrust continued to mail invoices to him, despite the market value documentation he submitted and despite his requests to us that the account be closed.
With regard to the asset’s fair market value, the client did submit valid fair market value documentation September, 2015, that should have resulted in our marking the asset value to $0.00. At that time, the process of reviewing asset fair market values was in transition to an out of state location, and we failed to process the client’s request. This was our error. A second submission of the asset value was also made but in error was again not processed.
Entrust did also continue to mail invoices to the client, assessing quarterly fees based on the incorrect account value. These invoices should not have been sent and have been reversed. The true balance due on the account – for fees assessed prior to the re-valuing of the account - is $293.50. Entrust is waiving these fees, along with the account termination fee, such that the balance due on the account as of today is $0.00. The asset’s value has also been marked to $0.00 and his account closed. No further invoices will be sent.
We regret that these mistakes occurred, and are pleased to say our processing of valuations has been vastly improved over the past few months. We sincerely apologize to the client for the time and effort he expended.
Thank you again for the opportunity to respond.
Sincerely,
The Entrust Group, Inc.