08 June 2010
This month I received an email from Alix and in this email Alix put a link in there to an article entitled, “Thirteen Things Your Financial Advisor Won't Tell You,” written by Michelle Crouch.
This article was posted on Shine from Yahoo! and with these 13 things, I’m just going to go through all 13 since the title of this article really caught my eye because I, needless to say, believe that I do try to be completely transparent with you, my client. So when I saw the title of this article I immediately wanted to click on it. So this article is going to show me some things that I need to tell my clients? I want to believe that I’m being transparent with my clients. But am I deceiving myself? Let’s find out. So without further ado, we’re going to cover all 13 of these things that I won’t tell you, (apparently).
1. “CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERs and NAPFA Registered Financial Advisors take a pledge to put their client’s interests ahead of their own, but traditional stock brokers aren’t held to the same standard, even if they’ve given themselves the title ‘Financial Advisors.’” I am a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and a NAPFA Registered Financial Advisor. Yes, it is true that I took a pledge to put your interests ahead of my own. I guess most financial advisors don’t do this, I don’t know.
2. “Do some digging before you hand me the keys to your future. Use Broker Check at finra.org to see if I’ve been in trouble.” Every single one of you receives or has received a copy of my ADV Part II Schedule F before you become a client of ETFM and are able to read any types of “trouble” that I’ve had in my business past.
3. “If I work on commission, I typically make money whenever you buy a new product, and I’ve probably got monthly quotas to meet. That’s why I always seem to call with something to purchase at the end of the month.” I do not work on commission. I am a fee-only advisor, so mute point for me.
4. “I may have other incentives to get you to buy. If I sell to enough people, I could win a trip to the Caribbean, a new laptop, or a big bonus (the guys behind the product may also have bought my dinner at Morton’s last week and sponsored or corporate golf tournament.)” I have no other incentives that I’m able to receive with the products or services that I recommend to you, my clients. I don’t sell any products period. Often times in my career I have looked at other agents and financial advisors that I know in the Atlanta area and I see them go on these elaborate trips. And they receive – not just laptops, but other very impressive items and sometimes maybe they receive a country club membership. Often times I’ve thought to myself “boy, it sure would be nice if I could get some of those things.” However, I would have to give up my independence and my ability to promote Biblical principles, in many cases, in order to get these additional incentives. In summary, I have absolutely zero additional incentives.
5. “Before buying a mutual fund with a load, see if there is a better option. For every fund that has one of these sales charges, there’s usually a similar one that doesn’t.” Again, I don’t sell any products for a commission. I’m a fee-only advisor and therefore I don’t sell, nor have I ever received a commission from a mutual fund with a load. If I recommend a mutual fund it is always no load! {Continued on next page}
Client Anniversaries
Congrats to Scott and Mary (30 years on May 5th), John and Janice (45 years on May 7th), and Tom and Polly (40 years on May 19th) for following through on their commitment, to love, from many years ago!
Special Thank You to These Clients
Many thanks to Tom, Curt, Bette, Scott, Steve, and John for recently giving me the highest compliment! Each of these clients referred me to their friends, acquaintances, or family (in the case of Curt, Bette, and John).
