Yesterday, I called Artisan Funds to redeem shares (that’s the lingo for cashing in shares). I was told by their account rep that I can’t redeem a small amount.. a couple hundred dollars, because they have a policy that shareholders can only redeem shares in the amount of not less than $500! I don’t have $500 in that account. She went on to say, the only other option I have was to close the account, then it’s okay. But, I didn’t give in — instead I told her that I did the same thing a couple of months ago. She says, “can I put you on hold?” .. sure, I said. Then she came back and said that the last time I cashed in my shares, they didn’t catch it! What?

I told the rep to close my account. I was so p’d off. So, she went on processing my request.. then later, what about your monthly asset builder plan, “will you still want to continue?” This is ridiculous. How could you technically close an account and still have asset builder (monthly savings) plan coming in. I don’t understand.

It’s already bad policy when a shareholder (I don’t care how small) can’t even access the money in the account. It’s worse when you still can continue to save money regularly even though the account is technically close. They should allow investors to have an easy access to the account…. after all this is not an IRA or a retirement account. And make things easier for shareholders. Providing great customer service or customer care should be the top priority for any organization regardless of size.