Financial Advisors Category

The title “financial advisor” can be confusing because just about anyone in the financial services industry can use it. There are no rules that restrict this role to particular types of professionals. However, “real” advisors do have particular characteristics you should watch for: They are RIAs (Registered Investment Advisors) or Investment Advisor Representatives (IARS), they act in a fiduciary capacity when providing investment advice or services, and they are compensated with fees. Also see financial advisor ethics on the Investment.org

By: Matthew Arndt, CFA, CPA, CFP | February 22, 2010 | Financial Advisors, How to Select Advisors

When it comes to their money investors must thoroughly investigate the adviser’s credentials; whether the adviser is held to a fiduciary standard (not just a suitability standard); and whether there are any material conflicts of interest that would exist with the investor/adviser relationship.
There are many investment credentials out there and sorting through them can [...]

By: Matthew Arndt, CFA, CPA, CFP | December 10, 2009 | Financial Advisors, How to Select Advisors

Is your adviser charging you both a commission and a fee? This practice of receiving compensation from two sources is not necessarily illegal but is a question of ethics and a grave one at that.
Recently this came to my attention when I sat down with a prospective client who was with an adviser at [...]

By: Matthew Arndt, CFA, CPA, CFP | December 2, 2009 | Financial Advisors, Investor Information

On the surface, a broker and a fee-based adviser look exactly the same to most investors. In the investors mind the distance between the two is quite narrow, but in reality the structuring of their incentives are vastly different with significant implications. In a former post, “Ripped Off: Who is Paying Your Financial Advisor”, someone [...]

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 (88) | October 22, 2009 | Financial Advisors, Who Can I Trust?

A lot of investors say they want independent advice, but when queried, very few investors can tell us what that type of advice that is.
48.2% of investors believe independent advice comes from financial advisors who are not employed by big Wall Street firms. They believe advice from Wall Street advisors is tainted because their firms need rising revenues and [...]

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 (88) | July 16, 2009 | Financial Advisors

The most frequent question we receive from investors is how to determine the trustworthiness of financial advisors. 
A trusted financial advisor is a professional who "always" put investor interests ahead of his or her own.
TIPS
1. Always ask advisors for their CRD numbers and use them to check their compliance records at FINRA.org and state securities commissioners.
2. Select professionals who are Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) or Investment Advisor Representatives [...]

By: Rick KahlercloseAuthor: Rick Kahler Name: Rick Kahler
Member: Member Paladin
Quality Rating:
Email: rick@kahlerfinancial.com
Site: http://www.kahlerfinancial.com
About: Rick Kahler, MS, CFP®, (www.KahlerFinancial.com) is a fee-only financial planner, speaker, educator, and columnist. Rick is renowned as a pioneer in integrating financial planning and psychology. In 2009, he was recognized by Wealth Manager as the largest financial planning firm in a seven-state region. In 2009, BusinessWeek listed him as one of the 15 most experienced planners in the United States. He is the past chairman of the South Dakota Investment Council, charged with the investment oversight of over six billion dollars. His work and research has been featured or cited in The Wall Street Journal, ABC's 20/20, New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Money, SELF, and Parenting. He is a co-author of four revolutionary books on money, financial planning, and therapy: Wired for Wealth (Health Communications, 2008), Facilitating Financial Health (NUCO, 2008), The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge (Health Communications, 2005, 2008), and Conscious Finance (FoxCraft, 2005, 2007).See Authors Posts (9) | July 6, 2009 | Financial Advisors, Financial Planners

If you’re looking for a financial planner, it’s a good idea to interview several. Here is a list of questions, in no particular order, that you may want to ask the planners you interview.
1. What are the characteristics of your typical client? If a planner serves a very narrow niche, such as specializing in employees [...]