You might come across the name of The Celestin Group Morgan Stanley if you are looking for a financial advisor in Mandeville, Louisiana. It makes multiple claims about its skill and service quality.
However, they are all lies.
In truth, Celestin Group Morgan Stanley has put in multiple problematic provisions in place to take advantage of unsuspecting investors. That’s why you must know about these provisions. The following review will help you in this regard:
The Celestin Group Morgan Stanley: Services and Staff
The Celestin Group Morgan Stanley is a wealth management firm located at 1261 W Causeway Approach, Mandeville, LA 70471, US. Their contact number is 985-624-6900.
The firm claims to help its clients develop clear strategies to navigate through the complex financial world. They claim to focus on understanding all the various aspects of their clients’ lives which influence their financial future such as their family, professional goals, and more.
Also, the firm claims to revise its plans regularly to stay up to date with the client’s evolving priorities and aspirations.
The Celstin Group Morgan Stanley offers many services to its clients, including:
- Wealth management
- Cash management
- Financial planning
- Estate planning strategies
- Long-term care insurance
- Annuities
- Trust accounts
- Stock option plans
- 401(k) rollovers
- Corporate retirement plans
- Lending products
And plenty of others.
The managing director of this wealth management firm is Don Celestin. Apart from him, other notable people at this firm are T.C. Ford, Michele C. Berthelot, and Michael Plasko.
Did You Know?
Don Celestin claims of having experience of over 30 years and holds several professional designations, as, CFP, ChFC, CLU & AIF.
Even though Don and his team make many attractive claims about their expertise, you don’t have to believe them. You shouldn’t believe them.
Why?
Because Don has a history of negligence and his firm’s current provisions promote negligence further. His firm’s terms and conditions have many predatory provisions which you’ll learn about in the next section of this review.
Various Issues Present in the Celestin Group Morgan Stanley
History of Negligence
Don Celestin’s FINRA BrokerCheck listing shows two major conflicts. His first dispute was actually with Painewebber Inc.
The conflict led to employment separation after allegations and it occurred in 1990. Here, the firm alleged that the advisor signed client agreements that he shouldn’t have. They were for the client.
The firm permitted Don to resign. He had signed client agreements on the resource management account form. In his defense, Don claimed that no complaints were sent to New York and he had informed the client beforehand.
However, he signed agreements in place of his clients which he shouldn’t have. Hence, the firm permitted him to resign.
Don’s second dispute occurred in 2009. Most of the details of this dispute are hidden. However, the disclosure on FINRA BrokerCheck shows that Don lost a lawsuit for negligence and ended up paying $165,000 in damages.
Facing a lawsuit for being negligent and losing it shows that Don Celestin is not as reliable as he claims to be. Working with a negligent wealth advisor can leave you in jeopardy. This reason alone makes the Celestin Group Morgan Stanley unsuitable for most investors.
“Selling” Investments Instead of Recommending Them
The Celestin Group Morgan Stanley earns commissions from the sale of proprietary and affiliated products. Earning commissions from certain investments introduces bias into an advisor’s recommendations.
It restricts the selection of investments they can recommend to their clients. Hence, you might miss out on many suitable investments only because your advisor wouldn’t get any commissions from them.
Moreover, some of these investments offer higher commissions than others. So, the firm might push a small group of securities more regardless of their suitability.
Earning commissions is among the biggest reasons why financial advisors give unsuitable recommendations. Considering Don’s history of negligence, this provision becomes more dangerous.
Be extremely cautious of such wealth advisors.
Charging Hidden Fees
Apart from “selling” investments instead of recommending them, the Celestin Group Morgan Stanley allows itself to charge hidden fees.
The firm charges 12b-1 fees. It’s a marketing fee that goes straight into the advisor’s pocket. Companies share this fee with wealth advisors so they would promote certain investments more.
Hence, the 12b-1 fees can also introduce bias into the advisor’s recommendations. Furthermore, it inflates the cost of security without offering anything in return.
You end up paying a higher price for an investment that offers the same returns as any other.
Another huge drawback of 12b-1 fees is that it’s variable. This allows the firm to increase it artificially and charge hidden fees under its guise. It can add up over time and decrease your ROI considerably, especially if you want to invest for long-term returns.
Conclusion
After going through the history of Don Celestin, the Celestin Group Morgan Stanley seems like a horrible option.
You should stay miles away from such a sketchy wealth advisor. Luckily, they aren’t the only wealth advisor in Louisiana. There are plenty of others to choose from.
This is why you research thoroughly before hiring any FA. My dad was scammed out of his retirement savings by an advisor several years ago. Luckily, he was able to mitigate his losses but the damage was done.
Thank you for this review. Can you suggest some other FAs in Louisiana?