Business Briefs

Your financial health revisited

In the January and February articles of this year, I introduced you to what to look for in a financial planner. On March 11, the Colorado Springs Gazette published an article that pointed out the downside of picking the wrong one.The article, written by Dennis Huspeni, was titled, “You really can’t believe everything you hear Radio’s ‘Trusted Financial Advisor’ quite the opposite.” The article concerns a “trusted financial advisor” who took advantage of the uneducated and unknowing.”The Advisor” was found guilty of fraud, breach of contract, deceptive trade practices and bad faith. Jurors awarded the plaintiff $132,620 for the $50,000 he lost plus damages. The award was automatically tripled to just under $400,000 because the jurors found the fraud was accompanied by “bad faith.” The defendant was also ordered to pay the plaintiff’s attorney’s fees.This cannot be said any stronger: Know with whom you are dealing before you put your hard-earned money at risk!Here are the questions that you must be asking, at a minimum:

  • How long have they been providing financial services professionally?
  • What licenses do they carry?
  • What professional education have they completed?
  • Do they currently have industry credentials that can be checked for complaints or problems with other clients?
  • Do they “company hop” every year or so?
  • What other professionals do they currently work with who would be comfortable referring back to them?
  • How are they paid? Fee based or commission?
A quality advisor should be able to easily provide you these answers. You should plan on interviewing and evaluating several financial planners to find the right one for you.You will want to select a competent, qualified professional with whom you feel comfortable and one whose business style suits your financial planning needs.Once you decide on a professional, plan on the following:
  • Identify services to be provided
  • Compensation arrangements
  • Responsibilities of client and advisor
  • Duration of the arrangement
  • Any additional information that will further define or limit the scope of the engagement
  • If the advisor is a registered investment advisor representative and/or a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(tm) professional, additional disclosures statements should be forthcoming.
There is nothing better than an educated consumer.Colorado Comprehensive Wealth Management719-886-3377Registered Investment Advisory RepresentativeSecurities America Advisors Inc.Member NASD, SIPCFor more information, visit www.alexdonnell1.sarep.comColorado Comprehensive Wealth Management and Securities America Advisors Inc. are independent companies.

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