A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Industry Insight
By Bob Veres
August 1, 2009
In a compliance session at the recent NAPFA National Conference in Washington, Steve Blum, a business ethics professor at the Wharton School, talked about the difference between strict fiduciary standards, where the advisor works purely for the benefit of the client, and suitability standards, where the employee of the brokerage firm works on behalf of the company.
Seeking new standards from investment professionals.
It’s been months since most investors began seeing big losses on their financial statements. If they haven’t yet hired a financial advisor, many are thinking about doing so now. Others, who already have financial advisors, have either called to discuss their options or possibly even switched to a new advisor in hopes of turning around their situations. (more…)
Those who seek to safeguard their financial future face many challenges. The difficulties of economics, taxation, complicated mathematics and planning for the future all come together in a convoluted bundle. Each piece can be a challenge and each is significant. An even greater problem looms above all of these, however, and its answer lies at the root of protecting a family’s financial well being. Who can we trust to give us the best possible advice? (more…)
We live in complex and confusing times. Everyone is required to make many judgments, weigh many issues, and take a great deal of information into account on a daily basis. So many of the important decisions we must make call for specialized skills or experience that we may not possess. They also demand free time for thoughtful reflection; something which may be in short supply. What we badly need, to manage our complicated lives, is excellent advice. The need for good counsel, though, leads directly to a bigger problem: who should we trust? In some ways, this is the biggest quandary of all. Figuring out in whom we can safely place our faith and reliance seems almost impossible. Yet solving this dilemma is critical. In light of the growing complexity and specialization of our world, obtaining the best advice is more vital than ever. Finding skilled advisors who are deeply trustworthy may be the most important, and most difficult, task we face. (more…)