An Attorney And A Surgeon
A lovely young couple were referred to me this week (young in my practice is anyone under 55 - they are in their early 40’s).
He is an attorney, she is a surgeon. Both are, obviously, well educated, and neither one seemed timid, shy or afraid to speak their mind. Which makes the tale they told me all the more bewildering.
They had been using the services of another financial advisor. They paid this person a substantial fee upfront and were told they would get a roadmap, or clear plan on how to reach their retirement and college saving objectives. He moved their accounts around and had them replace their life insurance and disability policies with new policies.
They asked him how he was being compensated, and what they received was a vague answer which they didn’t quite understand. They said they felt “stupid’ for not knowing what he was talking about, so they didn’t press the issue.
Wow.
Two smart thinkers bullied into submission by one good salesperson.
They never did receive any type of long term plan or recommendations.
They told him they were terminating his service and he ranted at them about how much time he had “wasted” with them.
Wow, what professionalism. (In our practice, if a client terminates, we conduct an exit interview where we walk them through everything they have, and in addition, assist them in transferring it to where they want to go. That, my friends, is professionalism.)
This advisor is what I call a “double-dipper” or fee-based advisor. He holds an insurance license, and possibly a securities license, which allow him to collect commissions on the sale of insurance and investment products, and he is a registered investment advisor, either registered in his state, or with the SEC, allowing him to collect a direct fee for giving advice (the upfront fee they paid.)
All of that is legal (unfortunately), but whenever someone won’t give you a straight answer as to how they are paid, don’t walk, RUN out the door.
You have a right to know what you are paying, to whom, and what you expect to receive from it.
People like this guy piss me off, but ignorant consumers are also to be held responsible.
So c’mon consumers. Wise up! Gets some guts. Ask the tough questions and if you don’t like what you hear, walk out.
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An Attorney And A Surgeon originally appeared on About.com Money Over 55 on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 18:45:21.
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