SEC From CRS
Mariner Investment Group
March 31, 2020
Mariner Investment Group (MIG), is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a broker-dealer [and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC)]. Brokerage and investment advisory services and fees differ and it is important for you to understand these differences. Free and simple tools are available to research firms and financial professionals at Investor.gov/CRS, which also provides educational materials about broker-dealers, investment advisers, and investing.
We offer brokerage services to retail investors, including buying and selling securities, annuities and bonds.
MIG offers securities through Bernard Herold LLC clearing through Pershing LLC. MIG does not hold securities itself but rather depends on Pershing to hold all assets of clients.
MIG professionals offer investment monitoring on a weekly basis. MIG does not offer discretionary accounts and you as a client will be consulted on any recommendation for a purchase or sale. This does not apply to automatic reinvestment in mutual funds if the account is set up as so.
There are no investment minimums in opening an account with the exceptions. Margin account must have a minimum balance of $2,000 and in investing into certain Mutual funds the fund itself may have a required minimum. You make the ultimate decision regarding the purchase or sale of investments.
MIG does not act as Custodian for retirement products such as IRA’s, SEP’s and 401K’s.
Conversation Starters. Ask your financial professional—
• Given my financial situation, should I choose a brokerage service?
Why or why not?
• How will you choose investments to recommend to me?
• What is your relevant experience, including your licenses, education and other qualifications?
What do these qualifications mean?
What fees will I pay?
Help me understand how these fees and costs might affect my investments. If I give you $10,000 to invest, how much will go to fees and costs, and how much will be invested for me?
As a client of MIG you will be charged a commission on all transactions. There is no management fees. Mutual Funds and Annuities have a sales load that can be very high. Mutual fund commission can be No Load, Front End Load or Back End load and the percentages can range from o% to 5.5 % and Annuities can have up to 6.5%. Discuss the commission with you professional to be sure the investment is right for you. High commissions can cause a conflict of interest in the choice of investment for you. Further the more active or the more trading that is done will generate more commissions and or Fees. This is a conflict of interest on the part of the representative and we will attempt to monitor this type of activity to safeguard your account.
You will pay fees and costs whether you make or lose money on your investments. Fees and costs will reduce any amount of money you make on your investments over time. Please make sure you understand what fees and costs you are paying.
Example: If you purchase 100 shares of Exxon at $42.00 per share and brokerage fee of $45 will be charged. This will bring your cost per share to $4245 per shares. On the reverse side if you sell 100 shares of Exxon at $45 per share a broker fee of $45 will be charged. This would generate a total fee for the buying and selling of those 100 shares to $97.
Example : in a Mutual Fund Purchase the charges are paid in three ways
Front End load: You would buy a fund for $10,000 and a 4.5% commission would be paid to the representative. That means only $9,550 of your money would go toward your investment.
Back End load: In this investment 100% of your investment would go to work. However If you took it out after one year your account would pay a 3.5% fee. If you liquidated after two years a 2.5% fee will be a charge.
C Shares: This type of invest Fund investment put 100% of your money to work and the representative will be paid by the fund 1% of your account balance every year you stay in the fund.
Ask you Representative about the discount of fees using break points.
What are your legal obligations to me when providing recommendations?
How else does your firm make money and what conflicts of interest do you have?
When we provide you with a recommendation, we have to act in your best Interest and not put our interest ahead of yours. At the same time, the way we make money creates some conflicts with your interests. You should understand and ask us about these conflicts because they can affect the financial professional’s recommendation.
Do you or your financial professionals have legal or disciplinary history?
As a financial professional, do you have any disciplinary history? For what type of conduct?
YES. MIG‘s disciplinary history is available by visiting Brokercheck.com or Investor.gov/CRS
For additional information about our services, as your professional for copies of Mutual Fund prospectuses and commission fee schedules. If you would like additional, up-to-date information or a copy of this disclosure, please call W. James Ecford at 713-920-9431.
This information is provided you to comply with Sections 3, 10, 15, 15(c)(6), 15(l), 17, 23, and 36 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) and section 913(f) of Title IX of the Dodd-Frank Act authorize the Commission to require the collection of the information on Form CRS from brokers and dealers. See 15 U.S.C. 78c, 78j, 78o, 78o(c)(6), 78o(l), 78q, 78w and 78mm. Filing Form CRS is mandatory for every broker or dealer registered with the Commission pursuant to section 15 of the Exchange Act that offers services to a retail investor. See 17 CFR 240.17a-14. Intentional misstatements or omissions constitute federal criminal violations (see 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a))
