Financial Advisor

Many agents who sell insurance, investment product, investment advice or consider themselves a financial advisor also may hold themselves out as a financial planner. I am not saying that you must have a certification or degree in planning...

“Financial planner” is a term that is used by many. Some are legit trained planners, others are insurance sales people or brokers. The real question is; What level of planning do you really need? Do you need a credentialed planner, CPA, Tax attorneys and estate lawyer, or do you need someone that can work through […]

Whether you are interviewing a potential new financial advisor or meeting with your current advisor, these five questions are key to determining if this advisor and their firm are working for you, or for the broker-dealer. Question one: Does your advisor or firm have any “revenue-sharing” arrangements with any insurance or fund company? This is […]

When I started in the brokerage business 24 years ago, there were mostly commission-based brokers. So when you walked in to one of the local brokerage houses, you knew what to expect for the most part. Most of the brokers at Tucker Anthony, where I started my brokerage career, were building portfolios with individual stocks […]

Who is your advisor and what do they do for you? This is a question that everyone should ask about their current, or prospective financial advisor. When I meet with a new client, they receive an ADV part 2. This is a disclosure document that explains who I am, how I am compensated, how I […]

Do you think Mother Teresa woke up in the morning trying to decide if she was going to help the poor and destitute, or have a day at the “spa” just for her? Silly question, I agree, but I am just trying to point out the fact that certain things are embedded in our DNA, […]

This may sound like a very unusual question, are you part of the book or in a family? What I’m referring to is how you may be viewed by your broker, financial advisor, financial planner or investment advisor. If you’ve read my column in the past you know that I started in this business as […]

Robo-advising has become very popular because of the very low fees typically associated with this automated service. I believe there is some merit and a place for Robo-advising. There are just some concerns that I have regarding Robo -advising, first being, we really have not seen how the robot handles a fast-moving downward market or […]