Some brokers keep clients waiting for Reserve cash
Customers told they'll get holdings when fund manager honors redemptions
By Sam Mamudi, MarketWatch
Last update: 5:17 p.m. EDT Sept. 25, 2008
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- This week's decision by TD Ameritrade Holding to make sure its clients do not lose money from their holdings in The Reserve's Primary Fund - the money fund that broke the buck last week and suspended redemptions -- has increased pressure on other retail brokers to do the same.
At least one other firm, Ameriprise Financial Inc. (AMP:
Ameriprise Financial Inc AMP 41.28, +0.53, +1.3%) , has said it will use its own money to protect clients. Ameriprise announced late Wednesday that it would spend up to $33 million to protect 330,000 affected client accounts.
But among other brokerage firms, there seems to be very little action. H&R Block (HRB 23.18, +0.06, +0.3%) told MarketWatch in an emailed response to a question that unlike TD Ameritrade (AMTD:AMTD 18.51, -0.61, -3.2%) and Ameriprise, it is waiting for The Reserve to repay its clients.
"As soon as H&R Block Financial Advisors receives the funds from The Reserve, we will credit them to our customer accounts," it said.
The firm added in the email, "When H&R Block Financial Advisors became aware of The Reserve's new investment risk, we sought to protect our customers by requesting redemption of all our customer investments in these funds. Some of these redemptions have been received and are being processed."
The Reserve announced last Tuesday that Primary Fund had broken the buck and that it would temporarily halt redemptions. On Friday, it asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to be allowed to delay redemptions indefinitely, a request the SEC granted Monday. The Reserve said that the $62 billion fund had received $60 billion of redemption requests in the preceding week.
Ferris Baker Watts also has client money in Primary Fund. A spokeswoman at Ferris Baker Watts declined to comment, except to say that the firm will issue a statement on its Web site late Thursday. As of 5 p.m. Thursday, Ferris Baker's Web site only said that the firm is working to extract clients' money from The Reserve.
A spokeswoman for Charles Schwab & Co. (SCHW:
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. SCHW 23.57, +1.12, +5.0%) said the firm only offers clients its own money market funds.
Ben Pratt, spokesman at Ameriprise said that the company has been making liquidity available to clients "when there's need for cash to manage their daily lives." He said because the cash is coming from Ameriprise's own liquidity, it is not providing full redemptions.
Fred Tomczyk, president and chief operating officer of TD Ameritrade, said TD Ameritrade will work with any customers who had a pressing need for the money that's stuck in Reserve funds. See full story
But the provisions only apply to clients with money in The Reserve's Primary Fund. A smaller fund, Reserve Yield Plus, which also fell below the $1 net asset value per share last week, was higher reward and therefore risk, and as a result Ameritrade does not feel the need to cover its losses, Tomczyk told The Wall Street Journal. End of Story
