TIAA Receives New York Subpoena on Sales Practices<br />On the company’s website and in memos to employees, TIAA’s top management has characterized the allegations reported by The Times as “misleading.” The executives highlight the company’s “trusted reputation<br />and track record” and its “commitment to putting our clients first.”<br />Current and former employees who spoke with The Times said TIAA assigned its sales representatives outsize goals that were difficult to meet.<br />Two of these people said TIAA had a saying about creating fear among clients to generate sales: “If they cry, they buy.”<br />“In more than 10 years at TIAA, I have never heard such language, which is certainly not in<br />keeping with our values or approved materials,” said Mr. Peterson, the TIAA spokesman.<br />That complaint, obtained by The Times, was filed by former TIAA employees who contend they were pressured to sell products<br />that generated more revenue for the firm but were more costly to clients while adding little value.<br />The push to place clients in more costly asset-management accounts, annuities or in-house<br />mutual funds escalated after the firm began losing institutional accounts.<br />Another former employee provided sales materials that TIAA had given to its representatives<br />suggesting how to probe their clients to get them to act on an investment recommendation.<br />One page in the materials carried a headline: “The Probing Sequence, Making the Client ‘Feel the Pain.’”<br />This page was among sales training materials used by TIAA employees to prepare them for meetings with clients.
