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: DFreecloseAuthor: DFree Name: Debbie Freeman
Email: debbie@paladinregistry.com
Site: http://www.paladinregistry.com
About: See Authors Posts (14) | June 21, 2010 | Financial Advisors, Financial Planners

If you’re considering hiring a financial advisor or financial planner, here are five things you should avoid during your selection process.
1. Never limit your hiring criteria solely on where the advisor is located in relation to where you live. You should always look for the most competent financial professional vs. the most convenient.
2. Don’t [...]

By: DFreecloseAuthor: DFree Name: Debbie Freeman
Email: debbie@paladinregistry.com
Site: http://www.paladinregistry.com
About: See Authors Posts (14) | June 8, 2010 | Financial Advisors

How many times have you heard a friend or family member refer to their financial advisor as competent? Most often, people tell us how nice and personable their financial advisor or planner is. While having a good personality is important, their competence is WAY more important to you, given the fact that they’re managing your [...]

By: Robert_Horowitz | April 28, 2010 | Financial Advisors, Investor Information

How to Pick the Investment Strategy that’s Right for You
Your most important investment decision is whether to pursue an active or passive investment approach: With active investing your odds of succeeding range from 0 to 10%. With passive investing, your odds of winning are about 90% after taxes.
So which is right for you?
You [...]

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 [...]