| The fudging of expertise is appalling in our | | | | plan someone's financial future in my |
| business. Believe me, I know. I am 35 years | | | | "Western Culture, 1865-present" seminar at |
| old now, and have been in the financial | | | | UT.Think about that, though. Customers were |
| services business 13 years now. When I was | | | | entrusting their retirement plans to kids. If |
| 22, fresh out of the University of Texas with | | | | you go to Fidelity, Schwab, E*Trade, TD |
| a History degree, my first job was with | | | | Waterhouse, Ameritrade, T Rowe Price, |
| Fidelity Investments as a mutual fund | | | | Ameriprise, or any of the other purveyor of |
| adviser. I passed the Series 6 exam in a | | | | mutual funds, and click on their links to |
| matter of days. After a few weeks of | | | | "talk to an adviser", it is usually |
| training, most of which was listening to one | | | | accompanied by a smiling, healthy, slightly |
| of the more tenured reps (by "tenured", I | | | | graying middle-aged man with great teeth and |
| mean someone with six months experience), I | | | | his own corner office. In fact, you are more |
| was on the phone taking calls from all over | | | | likely talking to a very young, |
| the country, advising people on how to take | | | | underqualified, underpaid call center worker |
| care of their financial future. If you had | | | | who barely has a cubicle and is definitely |
| called an 800 number on a prospectus or an | | | | NOT smiling.Of course, it is true that it |
| advertisement, you would have been speaking | | | | does not take grand expertise to do what they |
| with someone like me. Dozens of reps like me | | | | do. Back in my day, we were given a script to |
| fielded calls, and not one of them had more | | | | inquire of a customer's marital situation, |
| than three years experience. I, myself, only | | | | age, risk tolerance, spending goals, and that |
| lasted a year and a half in that job. Call | | | | is it. With that information, there was (wait |
| center work has a way of burning you out.In | | | | for it) a Fidelity fund that met their needs. |
| the 1990's, Fidelity was undergoing rapid | | | | This is how it works at most firms. You need |
| growth, and they could not keep the place | | | | what they are selling. Financial planning |
| staffed. They had planned on staffing to a | | | | requires more than that.All investment |
| level where no more than five customers were | | | | products should be discussed in the larger |
| holding at any given time. Shortly after I | | | | context of a person's life -- not just |
| arrived, we were constantly on "red alert", | | | | financial life, either. If you take no other |
| which meant that 30 people or more were | | | | advice from me, take this one tidbit. If a |
| holding all the time. So, they relaxed their | | | | "financial adviser" is selling you a product |
| hiring requirements. They had previously | | | | from which he is getting paid a commission, |
| insisted on a college degree for their newly | | | | he will not have your best interests at |
| hired reps. Soon, I was sitting next to | | | | heart. Period.Mark Brandon is the managing |
| pimply-faced 18-year-olds who had been in a | | | | partner of First Sustainable ( a registered |
| high school classroom only a few months | | | | investment advisory catering to socially |
| prior. Looking back on it, who was I to feel | | | | responsible investors. |
| so superior? It's not like I learned how to | | | | |