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By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP™

SPONSOR: http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

First – a little “insider expert” background on the confusion. It exists largely because of the influence that large financial institutions (who earn revenue through the sale of financial products) have on legislators.

The Investment Advisors Act of 1940 requires that anyone giving investment advice must be acting in a fiduciary capacity. The intent was to separate the financial salespeople, who had significant conflicts of interest, from the investment advisors, who had few to none. If you know very little about financial products, would you rather be educated as the customer of a commissioned salesperson or the client of a fee-for-service advisor? Hands down, you’d want the fee-for-service advisor.

Of course, the financial institutions selling products understood this. They were able to influence the drafting of the 1940 Investment Advisors Act, to exclude “any broker or dealer whose performance of such [advisory] services is solely incidental to the conduct of his business as a broker or dealer.” So if salespeople just happen to give some financial advice that is “incidental” to the sale of a product, they and their companies are not held to the fiduciary standard. Our U.S. Congress allows financial companies to advertise as if they are fiduciaries while their sales forces are not held to a fiduciary standard.

Now, according to Rick Kahler CFP®, the same conflict arises in some professional designations, like the Certified Financial Planner® designation conferred by the CFP® Board. The designation initially certified the completion of training in financial planning. In 2008 the Board added a fiduciary requirement to the designation.

However, CFP®’s are only held to a fiduciary requirement when they are doing what the CFP® Board defines as financial planning. If a CFP® professional is giving advice to a client, the fiduciary standard applies. Yet the same professional can sell the same client an annuity with high fees and high commissions, even if the product may not be in the client’s best interest, as long as no “financial planning” is part of the transaction. The result is significant confusion for consumers.

The bottom line is this: when you look for financial advice or financial products, don’t assume the advisor is looking out for you. It’s your responsibility to find out whether any financial professional owes you a fiduciary duty.

So, I suggest you ask directly, “Am I a customer or a client?” The answer is almost always “a client,” as most financial services salespeople honestly don’t know the difference. After you explain that difference, ask them to verify their fiduciary duty in writing. That five-minute solution may have a lasting impact on your financial well-being.

Better yet, consider speaking to your fiduciary focused and fee-only Certified Medical Planner® professional colleagues at D.E. Marcinko & Associates.

“By Doctors – For Doctors”

CMP: http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org***

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