Fiduciary/Financial Advisor

Hey guys, looking to see who you’ve been satisfied with.

Any particular company or “guy” that you use? I’d like to find one in the Duluth area, but open to suggestions as far south as the metro.

Thanks!

I’ve been happy with Wealth Enhancement Group. My wife listened to their radio show Sunday mornings for years. Way better than the guy we were with. As she was nearing end of life (cancer) they helped make sure everything was in order. Used an attorney that works with them to set up a trust. I can call with any financial question and he’ll give me or find me the answer quickly. Can explain their analysis of global economics and outlook much better than politicians can. It shows they have an office in Grand Rapids.

A couple of points that you may/may not know.

Terms like “fiduciary”, “financial planner”, and “financial advisor” get used in different and sometimes interchangeable ways, but they all have specific meanings.

A fiduciary is required by law to consider the client’s best interests first. Based on the ads of a national company, some have taken this to mean some kind of “we don’t get paid unless you (the client) do well” arrangement, but this is NOT the case.

Financial advisor vs planner. IMO, these aren’t meaningful terms unless…

We’re talking about Certified Financial Planners (CFP). This means the advisor has completed a rigorous, standardized course and exam and achieved this certification, similar to what a CPA must do in terms of coursework and a certifying exam.

Personally, I wouldn’t use any advisor who wasn’t a CFP. To me this shows a level of commitment and verified knowledge that gives me the comfort level I need in anyone who’s giving me financial advice. Just like I wouldn’t use a “bookkeeper” instead of a CPA.

Finally, choose wisely and do your homework. Mrs. Gouse and I just changed our advisory firm after 20 years with a different firm. It was a big PITA, but the tone of our old firm changed after an acquisition and that made us start to question their advice, which is a BAD place to be. So I’m glad we made the switch, but this is not something you want to go through often.

Best of luck.

I’ll tag on to what Grouse mentioned, good advice. All depends what your needs are going to be. Going with a fee based firm will typically have fiduciary interests. One of the first question you should (Rather need) to ask is “How do you get paid”? They should feel very comfortable with an answer. If you get a lot of “It depends”, might look elsewhere.

One big thing to be careful of is someone pushing insurance and investment products. (Cash Value Life Insurance, Annuities, Mutual Funds) The person selling them will almost always be getting a commission on the sale. These products may or may not be something you need. If there is a need, shop around and fully understand what you are paying for and the risks associated with the purchase.

-J.

One more thing. Do a FINRA background check on who ever you work with. Google search on “finra broker check” Check for any pending litigation, current licenses, designations and how long they have been in the business. IMO a minimum 5 years experience.

-J.

not real sure if this is what Grouse was referring to, but i just seen on the news the other night there is something in the works in DC thats changing or tightening up things in that world!!!!!

Well, in Minnesota the law is if you are a financial planner they are required to be a fiduciary. Everyone should have a financial planner. They come in all sorts of levels, some require a certain investment range, some such as Fidelity just deal in their own products. I deal with Northwestern Mutual but they are not for everyone. Ask a lot of questions and in the end do you really trust what they are saying, even if you don’t like it. I have a friend who came into some money then use it to pay off a low interest car loan, which at tax time put him into the next higher bracket and cost him like $8000 extra. I asked him what his financial guy said, he said who can afford that…Well apparently you could have. Start early for sure!

David Anderson wrote:

Well, in Minnesota the law is if you are a financial planner they are required to be a fiduciary.

I don’t believe this is a law in Mn. Certain financial designations may be required to be a fiduciary. But to say all are required by law – no.

Industry wide there are FINRA and SEC rules that require the financial advisors to always work in their clients Best Interest. (This is regulation BI if you want to look it up.) Broker dealers are required to supervise reg BI rules and activities. But beware, there are a lot of gray areas IMO.

Believe me, I work in the industry and there are plenty of advisors that skit these rules frequently. Most will be in compliance of the law because you signed a disclosure. These are the pages in a financial agreement that no one reads until you need to hire a lawyer!

-J.

Jon Jordan wrote:

I don’t believe this is a law in Mn. Certain financial designations may be required to be a fiduciary. But to say all are required by law – no.

Jon, Thanks for the clarification. I seem to remember my guy said it was required however I didn’t ask in what context. Thanks for clearing that up. I would say that I am happy with their performance.