It's 12:00 — Do you know where your clients' assets are?

Jonathan Smith's heart began to race when he opened the e-mail alert on Tuesday from TD Ameritrade. The alert stated that one of his closest clients had filed paperwork to transfer nearly $ 1 million in assets away from the adviser. TD, which custodies Mr. Smith's accounts, stopped the transfer because the social security number on the paperwork was off by one number. The intervention turned out to be fortuitous because Mr. Smith, who is a managing partner at Jonathan Smith & Co. Investment Counsel, immediately called the client to ask him if he intended to leave. The client was baffled, telling Mr. Smith he was happy with his services and had no intention of switching advisers. “My client said, ‘I'm not going anywhere. Tell them to stand down and back off and keep my money with you,'” Mr. Smith said. Mr. Smith believes a simple typo is to blame for the snafu. Apparently, one customer who had the same last name as the client sought to remove his assets from his adviser. The person typing in that data must have made a mistake, he surmises. Nevertheless, Mr. Smith said it was fortunate that TD caught the mistake. “Believe me, it was a real heart-stopper,” he said. “If somebody was not Johnny on the spot at TD that account would have been gone by morning. And that would be a bad surprise.” Mr. Smith's firm has about $25 million in assets, according its latest filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and has been in existence for 34 years. This particular client began working with Mr. Smith 30 years ago. Mr. Smith was also suspicious of the transfer request. That's because the client only intended to remove one account when he and his wife have several accounts with him. Still, it made for a nerve-wracking morning. “I can say this has never happened before,” he said. “I started to wonder if I should call every client I have.”