Dear Liz: One subject I’ve never seen you address is the use of proprietary funds by financial advisers. We’ve taken over the finances of my in-laws, whose adviser put their money in a well-balanced portfolio, but all within a proprietary fund group. We are more or less stuck with continuing with their adviser because only certain agents can manage those funds. Also, getting out of the funds would require paying substantial capital gains. I am counseling my adult children as they make their investment choices to do as we have done and stick with funds that could be ported to other advisers or managed personally so they don’t get in a similar situation. Thoughts?
A: Proprietary mutual funds have enough potential disadvantages that people should do plenty of research before committing their money.
Brokerages and other financial institutions create their own proprietary or “house…
