A recent article on MSN Money reports there are nearly 176,000 people who call themselves financial advisers.
As with any profession, there are plenty of bad apples and weeding through them isn’t easy. After the Bernie Madoff Ponzi-scheme scandal and the latest complaints about Ameriprise Financial (which is accused of investing employees’ 401k’s in underperforming mutual funds), there is good reason you will want to thoroughly check out any financial adviser.
A June 2011 survey from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, the regulatory organization for advisers, found that few Americans have a written financial plan. If you’re in the market for a financial adviser, proceed with caution and consider these nine caveats. Read more here.
