Protecting your funds
Your sale proceeds may be the largest sum you’ll ever hand to someone else. Here’s exactly how we protect them.
Why this matters
No federal agency licenses or supervises qualified intermediaries. So we hold ourselves to the controls a bank or public company would expect, and we put them in writing.
Six safeguards
What we put in writing.
In November 2008, LandAmerica Exchange Services, then one of the largest QIs in the country, filed for bankruptcy with about $450 million of client exchange money inside. Clients whose funds sat in pooled accounts recovered only about 40 cents on the dollar. A year earlier, The 1031 Tax Group collapsed after its owner misappropriated about $126 million of client funds. Those clients did nothing wrong except trust a firm without asking how their money was held. These safeguards exist so you never have to wonder.
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A segregated account for your exchange
Your proceeds are held at one of the largest commercial banks in the U.S., with about $280 billion in assets, in an account set up for your exchange and never pooled with company funds.
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Never invested at risk
Your money is never placed in anything that could lose principal.
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Two people, every time
Every disbursement requires two separate authorized approvals. The person who opens your exchange is never the person who releases the funds.
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Wire instructions verified by phone
We never act on new or changed wire instructions sent by email. We confirm them through a separate, known phone number, because email wire fraud is the most common way exchange money is stolen.
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Bonded and insured above the minimums
We carry fidelity bond, errors and omissions, and cyber coverage above the statutory minimums in every state where we operate.
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Independent review
Files and fund movements are reviewed by an audit function that reports separately from the people who handle your exchange.
Clarity and security are the foundation of every successful exchange. Our role is to protect your proceeds and keep your deferral on track, no matter how complex the transaction.
Joel Arberman
Chief Executive Officer
Ask us anything
Questions to ask any qualified intermediary, including us.
Will my money be in a segregated account, or pooled with other clients' funds?
Segregated. Your proceeds are held in an account set up for your exchange, never pooled with company funds.
At which bank?
A national commercial bank. We'll name the bank on your first call.
Can you invest my funds? In what?
No. Your money is never placed in anything that could lose principal.
How many people must approve a disbursement?
Two. Every disbursement requires two separate authorized approvals, and the person who opens your exchange is never the person who releases the funds.
How do you verify wire instructions?
By phone, through a separate, known number. We never act on new or changed wire instructions sent by email.
What bond and insurance coverage do you carry?
Fidelity bond, errors and omissions, and cyber coverage above the statutory minimums in every state where we operate.
Who reviews your exchange accounts?
An audit function that reports separately from the people who handle your exchange reviews files and fund movements.
What happens to my money if your company fails?
Keeping your funds in a segregated account, never commingled with company money, is designed to keep them apart from the company's own assets. That separation is exactly what pooled-account clients lacked in 2008. Ask your attorney how it applies to your situation.
