So I was one of the few that started the process against Mainstar late 2021 early 2022. I had done everything I could think of and was 100% assured that Mainstar was going to keep up their custodial agreements. I had paid the fees and made sure they were made in a timely manner along with making sure the accounts were validated between Mainstar and Computershare.
Best believe… The customer service Mainstar has already knew the shares I was giving them were to be registered, and would NEVER be sold. So there was no intention of ever dealing with the selling “problems” they stated from my perspective.
I’ve logged into both Mainstar and Computershare to validate each account was consistent and nothing changed. It worked for the good year and some change…
Getting that letter (which I received personally yesterday) was not anywhere near what I had discussed and validated with the customer service representative. There was no “delay” of information being sent. There isn’t any “issues” with registering. There weren’t any “problems” with the Computershare side…
But you know the problems that did exist?
The brokers transferring to Mainstar…
Fidelity took 3 weeks… Vanguard took 4 months… Multiple calls, multiple validations, several representatives with both brokers couldn’t figure out why the transfers took forever. For reference, Mainstar DRSed the shares, I created my login and got that login pin within 3 days, beginning to end. Everything was great.
I don’t blame Mainstar for their current predicament. They were likely forced and many insiders probably paid off on it, but the Mainstar business was as legit as possible up until this recent fiasco.
They worked with me to get them out of Fidelity and Vanguard correctly. These same shares will travel once again to their new home in my well built LLC then…
See you fellow Mainstar Apes with your well built LLCs if you plan to journey that way yourselves. If not, you each should know what is best for you to do in your situations.
As always, I’m not suggesting anything, nor am I giving any financial advice. You are your own best judge of character in your own finances. You should not listen to me or anyone else you do not trust.
What a hell of an adventure this is…
It’s certainly been a learning moment. FBO custodial situations are more precarious than we expected for sure.
Despite the disappointment, I look forward to seeing what comes of all this. I’m hoping there are more IRA custodians out there that can help with the LLC route. Having only 2 options right now does not feel like enough to help every ape that wishes to do this.