Municipal Bond Forum

It’s the law

Q

After following your Web site and recommendations for several years, I decided to purchase some bonds from you. When I went to open an account, the very first question I was asked was my social security number and date of birth. If I opened an account, I would expect to give you my social security number, but my birth date is none of your business, except to assure that I am a legal adult. Consequently, I have given up the idea of switching brokers. You might want to rethink your policies.

A

James A. Klotz responds:

We apologize for the inconvenience. Please understand that requesting this information is not a matter of company policy. Although we don’t think it is necessarily our business either, we are required by securities law to obtain an accurate social security number and date of birth.

Feb 15, 2006

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