I am proud to announce that Global View Investment Advisors has joined NAPFA and the Dave Ramsey SmartVestor referral programs.
On Aug. 23, 2018, our own Retirement Income Specialist CFP Adam Wiles became a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). This organization is the country’s leading professional association of fee-only financial advisors. Like Adam, all advisors accepted into NAPFA are highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.
NAPFA holds its members to high standards in the financial industry. Each advisor must sign and renew a fiduciary oath on an annual basis, as well as subscribe to a strict code of ethics.
Adam takes great pride in providing the best financial advice to our clients. In fact, he specializes in making things as simple as possible for clients to help them avoid being confused. His acceptance into NAPFA is just one more step to ensure that happens. Adam is a true financial advocate and wants every client to be client for life. We congratulate him!
As of early August 2018, Global View is now also a member of the finance-great Dave Ramsey’s SmartVestor Pro network.
Dave is one of the best-known and trusted voices on money and finances in the country. So once again, this affiliation means that Global View maintains a high degree of ethical standards to educate and authentically help those in need while following Dave’s financial beliefs – educating investors that eliminating debt and investing for the long term is the ideal way to build wealth and prepare for retirement. We obviously take these concepts very seriously and are excited about this new relationship.
Conflicts of interest in the financial services industry is something I write about here often. The financial services industry is a confusopoly – the industry intentionally tries to confuse consumers for personal gain.
But not all financial advisors adhere to this deception. In fact, I am personally trying to make investors aware that this phenomenon is real and teach them how to better invest for their future.
The key is working with a fee-only fiduciary. Only then will your financial needs be put first.
Global View Investment Advisors has been an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau since 2015 as well as an independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), which means we are not tied to any fund family or investment products. Our advisors work as fiduciaries and therefore have a legal obligation to put our clients’ interests first. Always. The fiduciary standard is the highest in the industry.
If you read my blogs, you know how important it is to work with a fee-only fiduciary. Conflicts of interest between financial advisors and their clients happen too often, and that can be extremely dangerous for an investor.
Unfortunately, it happens all the time: A salesman portrays himself as a true financial advisor and wins an investor over with his slick sales pitch. Maybe the salesman said his services were free; the investor would only pay for a specific product (yet never explained that he was actually paid a commission or a high price for selling the product because selling it was good for his firm and its stockholders). Maybe the salesmen showed recent positive returns (but did not explain that the market has been doing well and it has nothing to do with his skillset). Or maybe the salesmen told the investor that he or she could sell a product at any time (but didn’t explain termination fees or explain that he wouldn’t be around to follow up with the investor or send any type of report that shows the product’s performance).
We’ve seen it all:
- Variable annuities sold in 2000 not worth more than the purchase price
- Fixed annuities sold in 2009 at market bottom (locking in losses)
- REITs that have lost 50 percent since purchase
- Sophisticated “financial plans” as a scheme to buy whole life insurance
Sorry to say, but salesmen know how to manipulate you. And you might be your worst enemy.
I personally take this issue very personal and want to bring to light the difference between working with a fee-only financial advisor, like those at Global View, who always put their clients’ best interests first, and unscrupulous salesmen who give the industry a bad name.
The DOL Fiduciary Rule
You may have heard of the Department of Labor (DOL) Fiduciary Rule. The Fiduciary Rule was created by the Obama Administration based on a recommendation by the Obama Administration Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) to lower fees for investors. The Economic Advisors found that “conflicted advice” costs investors 1 percent in returns. The Department of Labor, which made it possible to save in retirement plans that many people later manage in IRAs, passed the rule.
While the incoming Trump Administration didn’t overturn the rule, lobbying groups who benefit from selling commissionable products are opposing the rule in court. The reasons are real – the rule was not passed by Congress. But the problem is also real and one that cannot be easily dealt with in a Congress also full of conflicted interests.
Because so many different state and national organizations are involved, I honestly don’t think anyone will ever regulate it well. Think about this: The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is the national agency regulating commissions for securities (basically stocks and bonds but not commodities). The Security Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates investment advice. But no national agency regulated insurance sales. Instead these are regulated by State Insurance Commissions. Each state has its own insurance commission.
The important consideration here is that securities and insurance are basically regulated according to a highly subjective standard of “suitability,” which covers time of sale. Investment advice, on the other hand, is regulated by a fiduciary standard, which is an ongoing standard.
This means the advisor who is a fiduciary has an ongoing obligation to make sure that the investment remains suitable. This is especially important for people whose circumstances are changing.
The DOL Fiduciary Rule is an attempt by the federal government to make sure that, at least for money in IRAs and retirement plans, commission sales products, like insurance and loaded investments, cannot be sold. For the first time, this means its reach is extended beyond insurance. It means it would cover insurance, real estate and any other “advice” given over retirement plan assets.
If the DOL Fiduciary Rule is fully implemented, it will mean that anyone advising an investor on retirement plan assets must be a fiduciary. This means the advice must be in the investor’s best interests.
How anyone could challenge that is a valid question. But the answer is simple. There are too many profitable conflicted interests at stake.
It seems likely the rule must go to the Supreme Court before it is decided. Investors need to be prepared to understand this for themselves instead of relying on government. The lobbyists are funded by the big banks, insurance firms and even big accounting and law firms.
So Global View Investment Advisors wants to teach investors how to spot a fake and take matters into their own hands. Download our complimentary eBook to learn more about why this is so important.
In our mission for transparency, Global View Investment Advisors is also a Paladin Registry certified financial advisor with the highest five-star rating. Paladin Registry vets financial advisors around the country and confirms whether their information is correct and identifies any issues that would be found should an investor further research the firm.
We take our transparency seriously. Contact us if want to learn more.
