No one is altruistic. We’re not a nonprofit organization. Most advisers don’t have time to pay it forward. We all need to generate revenue. But when ethics and economics collide, it’s a moment that measures you as a human being. In that moment you experience a crisis of conscience. If you don’t act on your conscience in the moment of decision, the economics of your situation will rationalize another course of action that will benefit you at the expense of your client. The longer you … [Read more...]

When I was a young boy I had a dormitory matron named Sister Lucette. She was known for her pithy platitudes and one liners. One such quip that was indelibly inscribed into my mind was, “if you don’t discipline yourself, someone else will do it for you.” So, if the insurance industry doesn’t discipline its own, you can be sure some legislators looking for a consumer cause to defend will do it for you. There will always be bad apples in every industry, who have no regard for best practices and … [Read more...]

The great medical axiom "Primum Non Nocere" translated is “first do no harm.” Surprisingly, it’s not in the original Hippocratic oath, but it’s maxim nevertheless. Much like the saying “do unto others as you would want them to do to you.” So when the Department of Labor introduced the Fiduciary Rule, which states the obvious “to work on the best interest of the client,” I was dumbfounded. First, I just assumed everyone’s practice was client centric. Secondly, I thought the sale of fixed … [Read more...]

The few brave souls that desire to change their ways often request anonymity in their clandestine conversations with me as well as others who promote best practices. I don’t say that from a position of moral authority, just being a fraternal ear to my friends. It’s like operating a confessional. Interestingly, they need to purge their financial indiscretions and find a bit of relief in getting this weight off their chest. And keep in mind that most of their spouses are unaware of their financial … [Read more...]

You just keep shaking your head, wondering how you now find yourself in arbitration. Some say arbitration is better than going to court. But is it really if the outcome is the same? Across the table is your disgruntled client, arms folded in akimbo with her advocate, prosecuting attorney Ilya Lerma, defender of the disenfranchised and the guardian of the geriatric. She’s unyielding, unrelenting in her pursuit of client suitability. Attorneys who specialize in senior fraud are particularly … [Read more...]

There’s always some carrier culpability in bad recommendations from advisers, who shop manufacturers not for client centric contracts but for high compensation. The temptation is just too great for producers to sell high compensation products, who are financially needy or just plain greedy. At the bottom of every poor recommendation by an adviser or agent lies the overwhelming need for personal revenue. This is really evident in income life insurance sales using participating whole life and … [Read more...]

It’s an uncommon to find the finances of most advisers in order, much less a role model that their clients can follow. Often financial advisers and insurance agents don’t address the indebtedness of their clients, not because they are not paid to manage it (although that’s true), but that they don’t manage their own financial liabilities. Personal inconsistencies among the professional ranks of advisers and agents are scandalous. Their public persona of their own stewardship of money is … [Read more...]