By: Daniel ChencloseAuthor: Daniel Chen Name: Daniel Chen
Member: Member Paladin
Quality Rating:
Email: dcstrategies@yahoo.com
Site: http://paladinregistry.com/external/beaninformedinvestor/advisor_profile.php?advisor_id=1893
About: Dan's specialty is delivered by his Wealth Management Practice with a core competency in Fianancial Planning. The ability to deliver services for a fee eliminates the potential conflicts of interest created by the commission only type of aproach. He maintaines his office in Ocean N.J. however serves a clientel base from coast to coast. Dan believes that the basis for a great life is planning for it. Dan offers a no obligation meeting to decide if his services are appropriate for your needs.See Authors Posts (12) | May 14, 2009 | Bad Products & Services, Financial Advisors, Investment Performance

This is one issue that is being raised more and more as investor’s lack of confidence in the markets become more apparent. Or is it because advisors are losing confidence in their traditional investment solutions? Most advisors have only experienced a bull market, as a result, there is this belief that markets will only go [...]

By: Matthew Arndt, CFA, CPA, CFP | May 14, 2009 | Bad Financial Advice, Financial Advisors, Illegal Schemes & Scams, Who Can I Trust?

Having suffered devastating losses, witnessed the Bernie Madoff scandal, and been forced to revise retirement plans for the worse, the greatest question for weary investors today is: Whom can you trust? Consider one of the most trusted groups of professionals, doctors; they must go through rigorous schooling and training and take the Hippocratic Oath in order to practice medicine. There are no parallel standards or code of ethics for financial advisers.

By: Matthew Arndt, CFA, CPA, CFP | May 11, 2009 | Bad Financial Advice, Financial Advisors, Illegal Schemes & Scams, Report Fraud, Who Can I Trust?

Summarized in a recent FA News (May 08, 2009) article, FINRA: Broker Deceived 64-Year-Old Nun, a financial adviser affiliated with a well-recognized financial institution swindled a 64-year-old nun, an elderly couple, and a retired widow out of huge sums of money. Besides being a truly despicable piece, it goes to show you that just because (or especially because) an adviser is affiliated with a household name, investors should not assume that he will be honest and act with ethical integrity.

By: Jack WaymirecloseAuthor: Jack Waymire Name: Jack Waymire
Email: jack@paladinregistry.com
Site: http://paladinregistry.com
About: Jack writes for the InvestorWatchdog website and Worth magazine. He worked in the financial services industry from 1976 to 2004. For twenty of those years he was the president of a Registered Investment Advisory firm and a Broker/Dealer. Jack is the author of Who's Watching Your Money? The 17 Paladin Principles for Selecting a Financial Advisor and is a co-founder of PaladinRegistry.com.See Authors Posts (87) | May 10, 2009 | Bad Financial Advice

Financial planners and financial advisors do not have track records. Consequently, it is impossible for investors to determine the results planners and advisors have produced for current clients.
This is no accident. When financial planners and financial advisors produce no documentation for their results it makes it easier for them to use personalities and sales skills to convince [...]

By: Glenn EdwardscloseAuthor: Glenn Edwards Name: Glenn Edwards
Member: Member Paladin
Quality Rating:
Email: glenn@afadv.com
Site: http://paladinregistry.com/external/beaninformedinvestor/advisor_profile.php?advisor_id=2867
About: See Authors Posts (4) | May 7, 2009 | Financial Advisors, Who Can I Trust?

Fiduciary. For many RIA?s (registered investment adviser) this term is a primary reason for choosing to identify, define, and distinguish their practice from non-fiduciaries. It also can be used by consumers as part of their criteria in choosing an adviser to develop a relationship with. A fiduciary from the perspective of the [...]

By: Jack WaymirecloseAuthor: Jack Waymire Name: Jack Waymire
Email: jack@InvestorWatchdog.com
Site: http://www.investorwatchdog.com
About: Jack entered the financial services industry as an institutional consultant and later as vice president at Warburg, Paribas, Becker in 1976. From 1983 to 2003 he was the President of Lexington Capital Management and related companies. In December, 2003 John Wiley published his book "Who's Watching Your Money? The 17 Paladin Principles for Selecting a Financial Advisor". In 2004, he founded PaladinRegistry.com, a website that educated investors about financial advisors. A national Registry of pre-screened, five star rated advisors was added to the website later in 2004. In 2009, he founded InvestorWatchdog.com, a website that provides tools and information to investors who use the services of financial planners and financial advisors. Since 2004, Jack has been frequently quoted in the media on topics about financial advisors, Wall Street firms, investment scams, and the financial services industry (BusinessWeek, Forbes, Kiplinger, Washington Post, etc.).See Authors Posts (59) | May 1, 2009 | Investment Performance

How would you feel if one of your mutual fund investments lost 50% of your assets, then raised your fees to offset its reduced revenues?  In most industries, higher fees reward positive results, but not the mutual fund industry.
According to Martin Jewel, Associated Press, many funds are boosting expense ratios that determine investor fees.  The [...]