2 things

[j_koch]

1. Looks like prickish Republicans in DC and the TX legislature are getting put in check (by their own party)....for which I give them credit.
http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2009/01/05/daily12.html?surround=lfn

2. I would

Comments

[roofless]

I have always wondered if/how the Series 6+, CFP and other financial planning certifications, etc really prepared the individuals to make well justified recommendations, etc.

The problem really lies more with the way the industry is set-up. There may be well-intentioned, knowledgeable investment advisors that come into the industry, but they are immediately immersed into a sales/reward/commission based system that doesn't reward performance so much as it does pushing a particular product.

When I first got into the industry, I was at a conference where one of the more advisor friendly fund companies was giving an education based presentation - where as the advisor would then take the information, formulate a strategy, and then use this fund companies indice related funds to create a portfolio. During the Q&A section, a seasoned investment "advisor" raised his and and asked "but what is the product that we need to sell?"

That's the problem with the industry. Not so much so with fee-based advisors, as they do not take commissions and most funds are purchased @ NAV. They are also more likely to have no "preferred" companies of whose funds they offer, and most importantly, have an actual investment strategy rather than some run of the mill asset allocation. Unfortunately, fee-based advisors are in the minority.

[j_koch]

I complete agree, especially with:
"The problem really lies more with the way the industry is set-up. There may be well-intentioned, knowledgeable investment advisors that come into the industry, but they are immediately immersed into a sales/reward/commission based system that doesn't reward performance so much as it does pushing a particular product."

I have see that many times over with friends who have gone through the certification testing and taken financial advising positions.

I don't have enough $$$ in my account for any "well-intentioned, knowledgeable investment advisors" (which I am sure do exist), to waste their time with me. But if I am smart enough to become rich enough to be able to get a fee-based account and therefore access to a "well-intentioned, knowledgeable investment advisors", I am going to be pissed if they assign me a kid like the one that wrote the posted article and Liar's Poker.