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) | July 20, 2009 | Conflicts of Interest

Wall Street makes more money when investors do not know much about investing or its products. That lack of knowledge makes you dependent on financial advisors and easy prey for less ethical sales representatives who sell lower quality products with high expense ratios.

What you need is complete transparency from Wall Street that starts with the person who is trying to sell you investment and insurance products. For example,  written disclosures that describe investment representatives’ financial service experience, education, certifications, licensing, compliance records, and compensation.

However, it’s not going to happen. If Wall Street practiced transparency, its companies would make less money, executives would receive smaller bonuses, and inexperienced  representatives or reps with bad compliance records couldn’t make enough money to stay in the industry. 

Wall Street isn’t too concerned about increased transparency. That’s because the politicians who control financial service regulations receive millions of dollars a year to make sure regulations favor companies and not you. If there is one group out there that wants even less transparency than Wall Street executives its Washington politicians.

Expect a lot of rhetoric the next 12 months, but not a lot of meaningful changes. Whether it’s your assets or votes, there are powerful forces arrayed against you that  benefit from minimal transparency.