Can you Trust your Financial Advisor?

These are the thoughts that are currently going through the minds of millions of people around the world. Can I trust my Financial Advisor? Many people seek the advice of an investment professional because they either don't have the time to monitor their situation or do not have the knowledge to make wise investment choices. An investment professional is like a lawyer or doctor in that they are specialists in their own field. Many would agree that they wouldn't consult a lawyer to perform surgery or vice versa. 

However, given the current mess that we are in the credibility of investment professionals has been tarnished. Alas, the losses that you are experiencing are not solely the fault of the investment professional's advice. 

The mess that we are currently in is not on the advice that has been given but the advice that they have been given. As advisors, they base your investment portfolios on the advice of the research that has been conducted by their research department as well as the various portfolio managers that run their asset management portfolios. 

Add-in the lax government policies in the mortgage and complex investment vehicles that only a handful of people can begin to comprehend and voila we have the current crisis. The investment professionals that we deal with day-to-day are not too blame as they are merely selling you products that fit your needs based on recommendations that they have received. They are at a primitive level sales people. 

So next time you want to yell at your advisor, just remember that the key to Sales is that you only need to know a marginal amount more than your client to succeed.