retiree portfolio update

I'm beginning to think Brokerage2 was established during the dot-com frenzy. Everyone has a heavy ethnic accent, trade commissions are similar to the ridiculously high rates of the dot-com days ($19.95 / trade), and their online trading system is rife with so many bugs and errors. It seems they catered to a niche ethnic market hoping to ride the bubble and cash in. It seems the only one cashing in was Brokerage2, despite the brokerage having gradually downsized over the years, according to the retiree.

It turns out they've listed every one of the retiree's stock equity position as a margin purchase! When confronting the retiree about this, all I received was silence over the phone. And more question marks. Since I was rather slammed at work, the retiree ended up calling Brokerage2, and did his own interrogation, but didn't prod as intensively as I would've liked.

What I hope to accomplish by tomorrow is the following, when teleconferencing with the retiree and a Brokerage2 CSR:

1) Ascertain why on their website, each equity position shows the word "margin" next to it, when Retiree is telling me they were purchased with his cash,
2) Realize the net cash-out amount of the Brokerage2, and request cost basis for each equity position, and
3) Cash out of there like no other.

Ultimately, regardless of that final cash-out amount, the balance has been bouncing around like a rollercoaster ride for years now. Retiree probably doesn't understand what's going on and how I'm trying to accomplish what I projected to accomplish-- almost as if I care for his money more than he does.

Furthermore, this issue is just a small wrinkle-- one of the last few wrinkles in a nearly year-long struggle to get a firm grasp on his holdings. The biggest, most urgent aspect of the Retiree's portfolio is determining a precise, methodical investment strategy that we'll fundamentally stick to for the rest of his lifetime. Although urgent, this needs to be planned with extreme caution. Any slight disruption might unsettle the complete grand plan.