Does Your Financial Advisor Work on Commission? Make Sure You Know!

With both a book and website all about the need to Fire Your Financial Planner, you know that I am skeptical of people who make a living advising people on ways to earn and save money. Professionals in the fields of finance, banking, and accounting are certainly needed, but consumers must be careful when deciding to trust someone with their finances. What is the person's motivation for being a member of his field? What are his credentials? Does he always have my interests and goals in mind? These questions become particularly critical during tough economic times like the ones our country (and the world, for that matter) is now facing.

The Fox Business Channel posted a great article on its website earlier this month which posed the question, "Is Your Financial Advisor Working in Your Interest?" The elderly and disabled are most likely to be victims of a selfish or unscrupulous advisor, but anyone is susceptible to poor advice. You may have put all of your money into one firm that has now declared bankruptcy ... there goes many years of savings. Or, perhaps you were told to invest in risky stocks due to your age or earning potential and now you've lost a bundle. When the media is reporting numbers regarding the stock market, unemployment, and consumer confidence, and all of them look bad, you need to be positive that your money is in safe hands.

In the Fox article, the most important piece of advice given is to ask your financial advisor if he or she gets paid on commission. You may be surprised to know that insurance agents, bankers, and even accountants can find methods through which their services are based on commission. And, this method of compensation may be perfectly fine. Just know all the facts going into the situation so that you can ask the right questions if any advice starts to sound a bit suspicious.

When I meet with you for a coaching session, I will be completely upfront and answer any questions you have. I want you to be absolutely convinced that I am interested in giving you the advice that is best for your situation, because I am! Please contact me and let's find out how we can work together.

Stocks Take Biggest Post-Election Slide Ever

In exit polling that was conducted on Tuesday after voters had cast their decision for president, the economy was overwhelmingly mentioned as the number one issue on the minds of these civic-minded Americans. People are worried that over one million jobs were lost in 2008. The need to bailout the banking and investment industries is frustrating to many people who are struggling to pay their own bills. Overall, the news on our country's economy simply is not good. The voters determined by a convincing margin that President-elect Barack Obama will be the best choice to guide this country into a stronger economy. In the days immediately following the election, the stock market was not impressed.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 486.01 points, or 5.05 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 98.48 points, or 5.53 percent. This slide marked the biggest one-day loss ever following a presidential election. Were investors issuing a quick referendum on our future president? Concern over the transition may explain part of the drop, but it would be unfair to lay the blame solely at the feet of our President-elect. The election coincided with the release of new and dismal figures related to job loss, the announcement by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. that it is in the beginning stages of cutting ten percent of its employees, and a continuation of an economic downturn that is unrelated to our choice of a new leader.

As Ryan Larson, head of equity trading at Voyageur Asset Management, says, "We're in a really bad recession, period. Wall Street can spin it anyway they want to, but this is likely going to be more prolonged than people anticipated." So, those who were supporters of Obama's bid to our land's highest office know that the victorious candidate cannot improve the situation overnight. There are many months of hard work and challenging times ahead.

Are you interested in learning more about how this struggling stock market affects your investment and retirement plans? Are you nervous about the impact of a transition that necessarily occurs with any new president? I would love the opportunity to meet with you and discuss some of your specific concerns. Please visit my website to learn more about the financial coaching sessions that I offer.