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 generally a financial facade. When it’s unmasked, their revenues are significantly lower and their accumulated debt inconceivable higher than what they convey. Getting your house in order will require a major course adjustment and not some little five-degree redirection. The days of making small tweaks to your personality are done, only an extreme make over can remedy the sick soul.
Sometimes the hidden hypocrisy of personal bad money habits manifests itself in the products the field force promotes. Many producers sell high compensation fixed indexed annuities because they have bills to pay. These contracts are rarely client centric, with long term surrender periods and low caps, poor participation rates or significant spreads to overcome. How can every client profile fit the suitability rules with the same high paying fixed indexed annuity? This is exactly why the Department of Labor feels compelled to expand their oversight on insurance products with a heavy regulated hand.
In my parochial upbringing, the wise sage advice of my dormitory matron was fond of saying, “if you don’t discipline yourself, someone else will do it for you.” How true. Suddenly, you’re in arbitration or worse public litigation.
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