Horizon Trust Company

In response to Mr[redacted]'s response
to complaint # [redacted]We do not in any way wish Mr[redacted]
any ill, nor are we attempting to be dismissive of his frustrations. However, the fact remains that he is aiming
his frustration at the wrong place. What
he is upset about, are things for which Horizon was never responsible. Horizon staff tried to explain this to him
and help him many times. He is
simply
aiming his frustration at a company that did not bring about the
consequences of his investment decisions and his own decisions as to
management
of his account.
After reviewing the response from Mr[redacted], it appears that the true
source of his frustrations are with the investments he made and how they
performed. This, as a consequence, impacted
his ability to execute transactions that he wished to execute in his
account. He then became frustrated with
Horizon because they could not do what he wanted because his investments were
not performing as he expected they would.
From what he states, it appears that he purchased a house using his IRA
funds. That meant that he owned a house
in his IRA and was 100% responsible for that houseWhat Mr[redacted] still cannot seem to understand, is that Horizon Trust
was not ever responsible for his investments.
He was. Mr[redacted] states that "he
is not a financially trained person."
While that certainly can help illuminate why he hasn't yet come to
understand why his grievance with Horizon Trust is ill-founded, it does not absolve
him of that responsibility. The fact
that he chose to self direct his IRA account and to make the investments
he did, placed certain responsibilities on his shoulders. Stating that you did not know you were responsible
or that you did not have the ability to understand that you were responsible, does
not remove the responsibly. Further, Horizon Trust still would have not had any responsibly
in regards to his investment decisions.
Horizon Trust is a custodial company.
It does not in any way manage investments for Horizon clients. It is simply not what a custodial company
does. A custodian services transactions
within self directed accounts so that individuals remain compliant with IRS
guidelines for the use of retirement accounts.
This allows individuals to invest in assets of their choosing
It is the responsibility of the account owner to understand the
investments they choose to participate in.
It is the responsibility of the account owner to manage communication
and notifications for all items in regards to those investments. This is not a unique Horizon Trust policy, this
is the policy of all passive custodians.
It is a core function of the role a passive IRA custodian performs.
This is clearly stated in the engagement agreement he signed (as do all
clients):
"By executing the Agreement and by entry into the Disclosure Statement
& Custodial Agreement, Account Owner acknowledges that investment involves
risk, and that Account Owner is solely responsible for determining the
suitability, nature, prudence, value, viability, risk, safety, legality, tax consequences
and merit of, and to perform "due diligence" or other investigation with
respect to, any particular investment strategy or transaction involving Account
assets. The Account Owner understands
that it is their sole responsibility to manage the investment held within the
Account, and that the Custodian has no responsibility to question any investment
directions given by the Account owner regardless of the nature of the
investment. The Account Owner understands
that the Custodian is in no way responsible for monitoring the performance of
the investment held within the Account.
The Custodian will not conduct a due diligence review of any investment,
nor will the Custodian make any investigations with regard to any investment,
any issuer or sponsor of any investment, or any officer, director or other
person or entity involved or affiliate with the investments. The Account Owner understands that the
Custodian will not review the prudence, viability or merits of any
investments.
As for his re-iteration of his
earlier accusations, my previous response did address those and the fact that
Mr[redacted] was an active participant in the causes of his own frustration.
Again, what he is upset about, are things for which Horizon was never responsible. Horizon staff tried to explain this to him
and help him many times. He is simply
aiming his frustration at a company that did not bring about the consequences of his investment decisions and his own decisions as to management
of his account.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Regards,
[redacted] [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the response. If the consumer does not provide a reason if he complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]June 26, 2015
Revdex.com,
In response to the information the Jennifer P[redacted]
wrote. She also stated that I fail to acknowledge that I am managing my money.  I am not a faunal trained person.  Perhaps I will go back to earlier
events. 
The money for my IRA was put into two different accounts or
invested in two different places.  I had
it set up to get $1,000 a month from my IRA with 10% taken out for taxes each
month which gave me $900 deposit in my checking account each month.  In October of 2012 I was short a little over
$25.  Then in December I only received
$306.94.  I called Horizon Trust to find
out what happened.  There was a period of
time of about 3 months when Horizon Trust would not answer my voice mail or
email. I called to find out why I was short. 
When I found out that it was the house that [redacted] / [redacted]
Financial.  I told both Horizon [redacted] / [redacted] Financial that I wanted out of
that house.  Horizon Trust told me
that all they did was send me the money that they receive.  It took over a year and a half before I was
able to get out of that house.  If I was
in control of my money then how come it took over a year and a half?  So much for SELF DIRECT or my benign able to managing my money.
I was short every month in 2013 except for March for a total
of $4,884.03.  In 2014 from January through
July I was short $4,436.33.  That comes
to $9,320.36.  Then I did not receive any
money for September, October or November. 
I finally received the money in December only after many calls and a lot
a hassle.  Because the money did not come
in to Horizon Trust before the date that they send the money to me they could
not just send it to me without my filling out a 9 page form with the
information that they already have.  Then
it took until December 24, before I received the funds.
Horizon Trust has never let me know when an investment was
paid off.  Without my knowledge one of
the investments was paid off some time I guess in March or April.  Without my knowing anything about it Horizon
Trust made a depots in April for $26,789.85 which showed up on April 24, 2014.  It was not until I looked at my bank
statement that I realized it was there. 
I called Horizon Trust and ask them what was going on and if they were
trying to get into trouble with the IRA.  I was told that I could send them the money
back and put on the check rollover.  I
asked them about the money that they held out for taxes.  I was told that I would get that money back
when I got my tax return for the year. 
Well I did get the near $3,000 back with my taxes return but because it
was over 60 day I could not put the money back into my IRA account.
So coming back to this SELF
DIRECT or my managing my money, if I was in control I would not have lost
the $9,320.36 or would I have allowed them to send me the money in April from
the completed investment.
If the situation was reversed I do not think that Jennifer
P[redacted] would be happy if this was to happen to her. 
[redacted]

Please let this serve as our official response to complaint # [redacted] by [redacted]The complaint filed by Mr. [redacted] is erroneous, misleading, and falsely attributes processing delays to Horizon Trust, when they were the result of the actions by the client himself.  We wish this former...

client all the best in his future endeavors, and have no quarrel with him.  He has simply misstated the facts.  The most glaring issue is that the former client states that Horizon would not give him his money, when in fact he moved the money to another company and was upset that he could no longer take out the amount he wanted.  At every inquiry, Horizon employees explained and explained again to Mr. [redacted], what he needed to do in order to get to his funds, whether that was with Horizon, or contacting [redacted] where he had transferred the money, or contacting his investment sponsors to see when they might make another deposit into his account.  Horizon simply could not give him money that is was not holding.  Below are a listing of the CRM notations and email summaries with Mr. [redacted], for the time period between 8/25/2014 and 12/31/2015, the time period he refers to in his complaint.  Mr. [redacted]’s last transaction prior to August was in May of 2014.  There is no activity between May 28 and August 25.  First, as a point of clarification, Horizon Trust does not “manage” client accounts as Mr. [redacted] specifies in his complaint.  While this might seem like only the wrong word semantically, it is an important distinction.  Horizon Trust is a passive custodian that executes transactions at the direction of the client, where it is permissible by law, by IRS regulation, and by the amounts of funds available within the account at the time that the request is made.  Horizon Trust does not “manage” assets like a broker or financial advisor, as the term used implies.  When Mr. [redacted] states that he “doesn’t think Horizon is doing a good job managing his money,” he fails to acknowledge that HE is managing his money.  And, he moved it to another company.    8/25/2014 : Mr. [redacted] calls into Horizon and requests to make a distribution from his IRA account.  After verifying his identity by answering security questions, he speaks with Alisha R[redacted] who reminds him that all distribution requests must be made in writing on the Distribution Form.  Alisha sent him a copy of the blank form immediately following the call via email.He calls later that day to confirm that he form was received in the office.  Alisha informs him that it was, but alerts him that a section is incorrect.  8/27/2014:  The corrected form requesting the distribution is sent for processing.8/28/2014: Client calls and requests that a statement be emailed to him.  This is completed the same day and the statement is sent via email.8/29/2014: The distribution is processed within the standard 3 day period that all clients are aware of. 9/11/2014: Horizon Receives a transfer form from [redacted] informing is that the client is transferring his money from his Horizon Account to [redacted].  Client is phoned and it is made known to him that we are attempting to process his transfer to [redacted], however the amount that HE listed on the transfer form was higher than the amount available at the time the form was received, because he has taken the distribution from his account.  Since he has listed a specific amount, we could NOT process the transfer, as it is a violation of our governing regulations for us to alter a client transfer form.The client was instructed to write “ALL” in the transfer amount field so that ALL funds could be transferred to [redacted] IF that is what he desired, without his having to get the exact amount correct.  Instructions were also sent via email to the client to ensure that he understood the instructions. Client completes the form correctly and requests that ALL existing funds are sent to [redacted].  Note that the client did not transfer all assets, and hence, still had some incoming funds on a monthly basis.  He wishes this to continue (as of that point in time) and does not close the account.10/2/2014: Client calls in and answers security questions.  The client inquires as to why he did not receive his distribution for the month of September.  The client is reminded that he transferred his funds to [redacted] and there are not enough funds in his account to cover the distribution that he is requesting. Throughout the remainder of the month, incoming amounts into the account are still not enough to cover the amount he is requesting as a distribution.10/30/2014: Client calls in and answers security questions.  The client inquires as to why he did not receive his distribution for the month of October.  The client is AGAIN reminded that he transferred his funds to [redacted] and the there are not enough funds in his account to cover the distribution that he is requesting.  It is pointed out to him that the payments he is receiving into his account are 10 times less than the amount he is wanting to withdraw.  He simply cannot withdraw the amount he desires from the HTC account.  Client is upset that he was charged his annual account fee.  This is an annual fee charged on the anniversary of the account every year and acknowledged by the client at the time they sign up for any account.  Client was upset that he “kept losing money.”  We reminded him that he has not lost his money, he simply transferred it to another company.12/02/2014: Client calls in and answers security questions.  The client inquires as to why he did not receive his distribution for the month of November.  The client is AGAIN reminded that he transferred his funds to [redacted] and the there are not enough funds in his account to cover the distribution that he is requesting.  Client then requests assistance in contacting a title company to help him find out why the interest payments that he was to be receiving were not yet showing in his account.  Title company confirms that a check for his account was not sent to Horizon until 11/28, the day after Thanksgiving.  12/4/2014: Client interest payment is received from the title company and deposited to his account. Note, the amount received is still not sufficient for the amount of distribution the client is still requesting.  12/18/2014: Client elects to take a lesser amount for his distribution and received the money that he can withdraw. 12/19.2014: He files this complaint.  No word as to whether or not he ever contacted [redacted], who actually has his funds during this time period to ask them to please issue him a distribution.  Jan – June 2015: Transactions continue as expected within his account until he transfers his remaining assets to [redacted] and closes his account.  In summary:-Horizon did not ever manage Mr. [redacted]s account.  Mr. [redacted] managed his account.-Mr. [redacted] did not move his money to [redacted] following the period he describes in his Revdex.com complaint as he implies.  Rather, his movement of his money and his consequent insistence to take distributions from an account where the funds used to be are exactly what caused his frustrations.  He simply couldn’t understand why he couldn’t withdraw money from an account that didn’t have enough money for the withdrawal.  -Horizon did not give him excuses.  Horizon employees repeatedly assisted Mr. [redacted] and attempted again and again to explain to him what he had done.  They went so far as to assist him in contacting 3rd parties to check on the status of his interest payments.  This is NOT Horizon’s responsibility, but was done as a courtesy to a client who seemed to really need the help.-Mr. [redacted] states that Horizon was not very concerned about him.  To the contrary, our staff tried again and again to help him.We ask that you please remove this complaint from our record, as we have done nothing wrong.  The former client was confused and was having a hard time understanding the consequences of the transactions that HE initiated.  Again, we wish him the best, but this complaint is simply unwarranted and completely inaccurate.  If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at ###-###-####Warm Regards,Jennifer P[redacted]CMO, Horizon Trust Company