Schulman Johanna, CFP

Ms. Schulman looks good on paper, and talks the talk, but it was only after I started investing with her that I became aware of her complete lack of integrity. I was working with her as an adviser on my portfolio which I had just transferred to Ameriprise, and was seeking her advice on making additional investments. She recommended that I buy a rather expensive annuity, which she told me that she did not own herself because she is younger than I am. (I found this an odd comment, and later found out she is only TWO YEARS younger than I am.) After spending a significant amount of time researching this annuity, I could not determine that it was a good investment for me, so I called her to let her know that. I asked her for information on some other things I was interested in, and she said would get back to me with that information. She then called me first thing the next morning and told me she no longer wished to be my adviser. She launched into a long and bizarre list of «reasons» for this, which included her making false claims about a recorded conversation she had with my mutual fund company, a serious legal issue that the fund company representative found equally disturbing. She also told me that she was afraid I would sue her (and that she doesn’t have adequate liability insurance). She said her fear was based on the fact that she knew I had taken two people to small claims court. These were both home improvement contractors who had taken large deposits from me and then disappeared, so it was surprising that Ms. Schulman would compare herself to them. Her bizarre diatribe went on and on and on… suffice it to say that I was glad this happened sooner than later, before I got even more involved in investing with her. When I reported this situation to her manager, because of her behavior, he agreed to waive the significant transfer fees when I moved my account to another firm. To anyone thinking about investing with Ms. Schulman, I would recommend that you save yourself the time, aggravation, and potential financial risk, and look for someone with more integrity than Ms. Schulman.