Mary Ong

Mary Ong says the financial adviser who sold her on a tech mutual fund last year isn't returning her phone calls now that the NASDAQ has tanked.

Maybe that's for the best.She says she's probably too mad to talk to him.

I'm afraid I'll just go ballistic over the phone , she said.

Ong's troubles began when she decided to roll over her individual retirement account after landing a new job.The IRA was in an array of mutual funds , but the Phoenix resident decided to get more aggressive after talking to an adviser recommended by a friend.

Ong , 42 , had an amount in the five figures to invest.The adviser pitched her about 14 funds and she said she pared that to four.Her biggest bet - about 30 percent of the IRA - went to the then year-old Internet Fund from the Enterprise Group , the class A shares with a 4.75 percent upfront load , or sales fee.

She was skeptical about the fund , but says she bought the hype about its astronomical gains.She got in at around $ 35 a share just after the Nasdaq peaked last year.

The subsequent collapse of the index and some of the fund's top holdings - Cisco , EMC , eBay - brought Ong's investment hurtling back to earth.Enterprise Internet now sells for about $ 13 , down more than 60 percent.

Ong makes it clear that no one put a gun to my head to make her buy.She's ultimately responsible and that's one of the things that infuriate her.

Ong is an analyst at a bank ; she does research for a living.But in this case , she trusted the job to a near stranger.

She's also irritated she didn't check out the adviser.She was hurrying to finish the rollover and dazzled by the run-up in tech.

These days , Ong sees her adviser as just a salesman who treated her nest egg like Monopoly money..

It's caveat emptor , buyer beware , she said.

Like other tech investors , Ong struggles to decide her next move.

I get extremely emotional about what I've already done.I'm so flabbergasted that I don't know what I'm going to do next..

Mary Ong
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Mary Ong

Mary is an AVP, Senior Credit Analyst with Metro Phoenix Bank. Mary's banking career spans over 25 years and several different banks. She started as a teller in Tucson while attending the University of Arizona. After graduating with a degree in accounting, she relocated to Phoenix as a credit analyst, where she also completed a formal credit training program that provided her with the foundation for her underwriting expertise. Mary's underwriting background is diverse, and includes commercial real estate, production home builders, asset based lines of credit, equipment loans, and consumer loans. Mary has also been a commercial loan officer and workout loan officer (criticized and classified credits). Mary looks at each loan package like putting together a puzzle made up of financial information, collateral, and other "puzzle pieces. Mary's credit philosophy: "We need to figure out a way to serve each client and maintain our high credit quality standards. Mary is a huge "Wildcat" fan and loves living in the Valley of the Sun!