cfpboard financial self-defense guide
TRANSCRIPT
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Cnsume Guide t
Finncil Self-Defense
W y kw rf
CFP BoarDS
Reviewed by Federal Citizen Inormation Center, U.S. General Services Administration
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Welcome
It should surprise no one that Certiied Financial Planner Board o Standards,
Inc.whose core mission is to serve the publicwould publish a sel-
deense guide.
At CFP Board, we take the responsibility to protect American savers and inves-
tors very seriously. It is why we insist that CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER
proessionals adhere to a iduciary standard o care, which requires them to put
the interests o the client irst. It is also why we uphold the CFP certiication as
the standard o excellence or personal inancial planning.
As the CEO o CFP Board, I have ound recent events particularly disturbing.
Fraud and mismanagement by inancial proessionals have undermined con-
sumer conidence. CFP Board is in an ideal position to advance the protection
o consumers rom raudulent, unethical practices that can put their inancial
utures at risk.
CFP Boards consumer advocate, Eleanor Blayney, CFP, has written this guide
as a irst line o deense or consumers who may be vulnerable to the minorityo inancial advisors who do not practice according to the highest ethical stan-
dards. It is written in dedication to those who have been hurt by, or victims o,
inancial raud and mismanagement.
In these pages, CFP Boards consumer advocate alerts consumers to some o
the common behaviors that warn o raudulent or unethical practices on the
part o a inancial advisor. She describes these red lags and their potential
consequences, lists the things that consumers should do to protect themselves,
and provides inormation on how to ile an oicial complaint i unethical or in-
competent practices are suspected. I encourage you to use this guide as a tool
to protect yoursel and your loved ones.
This guide, however, is just a starting point. To truly protect your inancial
status, seek the advice o an advisor who will put your interests irst. A list o
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER proessionals in your area is available on CFP
Boards Web site (www.CFP.net). The site also oers a wealth o inancial plan-
ning inormation speciically designed to protect and educate consumers.
I wish you success in your pursuit o inancial well-being.
Kevin R. Keller, CAE
CEO, CFP Board
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caution: Red Flags ahead
Check the news on any given day, and youll likely run across another sad
tale o inancial raud. Even the most sophisticated investors can all prey
to it, as the Bernie Mado saga clearly demonstrates.
But you dont have to run in Mados circles to encounter inancial abuse. A
2009 survey o CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER proessionals ound that:
60% o respondents knew a consumer who had experienced
raud or abuse at the hands o another advisor.
The most likely targets o inancial raud or abuse were senior
citizens, aged 61-75. (According to the Elder Financial Planning
Network, seniors have lost $2.6 billion to inancial mismanage-
ment or abuse.)
These numbers leave us with serious questions. Whom can we trust? Where
do we turn or guidance? What red lags can warn us o potential trouble?
Thats why CFP Board has produced this Consumer Guide to Financial Sel-Deense. Here youll ind a series o red lags, taken rom a CFP Board
survey o situations reported by CFP proessionals where a consumer had
been taken advantage o by a inancial advisor. Each o these red lags:
Identiies a common situation where consumers may
be victimized.
Describes the warning signs o raud or abuse.
Shares real-lie situations in which consumers were abused.
Shows you what you can do to protect yoursel.
CFP Board is in a unique position to oer this booklet. As an organiza-
tion created to serve the public, CFP Board holds CERTIFIED FINANCIAL
PLANNER proessionals to rigorous ethical standards that put the clients
interest irst and oremost.
You can protect yoursel rom shady operators. Use the tips in this booklet
as your irst line o deense.
Eleanor Blayney, CFP
Consumer Advocate, CFP Board
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did You KnoW?
60% o CFP certiicants know a victim
o raud or abuse at the hands o
another advisor.
Source: CFP Board 2009 and 2010 Surveys
Weve known
him orever.
Im sure you can
trust him.
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RedFlag2
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Flag5
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YouR selF-deFense moves
Ask your advisor to provide services with the duty o care o a iducia-
ry. This obligates them to base their recommendations on the clients
best interests, ully disclosing any conlicts o interest (actual, potential,
or perceived). I the advisor avoids the question or doesnt understand
the term, go elsewhere.
Trust, but always veriy. You cant board a plane without veriying your
identity and passing security checks. With your very livelihood and u-
ture security at stake, you cant aord to hire a inancial advisor with-
out a background check.
Ask your prospective advisor to identiy the organizations that license
or supervise him. Brokers are regulated by FINRA; investment advisors
by either the SEC or a state securities regulator; insurance agents by the
state insurance commission in states in which they do business; CFP
proessionals by CFP Board. Use these organizations Web sites to check
the advisors background and disciplinary history, i any. (See the reer-
ence list at the back o this guide or links to these organizations.)
spot the Red Flag
An advisor raudulently claiming to be a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLAN-
NER proessional holds a power o attorney or a clients account and
steals $1 million.
An advisor gets business by claiming to be retired military, a CFP
pro-essional, and even a Director o the CFP Boards Board o Directors. Cli-
ents discover that none o these claims are legitimate only ater theyve
been taken advantage o.
Maybe hes lived next door or years. Perhaps your kids play together, you gol in the
same oursome, or a close riend recommended him. Whatever the details, he claims
to be a inancial advisor. Why not just go with him?
To be sure, you want an advisor you can trust. But knowing someone as a person
doesnt mean you know him as an advisor. People take it on aith that the advisor is
who he appears to bethat the credentials on his business card are legitimate. Yet
blind trust oten begets disaster.
RedFlag1
do YouR homeWoRK
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Just sign here.
Ill take care o
the rest.
did You KnoW?
Never sign any loan documents that
contain blanks. This leaves you
vulnerable to raud.
Source: FBI Financial Crimes Report to the
Public, FY 2009
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RedFlag1
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Flag5
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dFlag8
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5
Financial planning involves a lot o paperwork. To make the process easier, many advi-
sors oer to complete the orms or you, using the inormation they have on ile. But
that can lead to trouble. Any advisor can get your inormation wrong; an unethical
advisor might alsiy data. Either situation can invalidate your contract.
YouR selF-deFense moves
Regardless o the paperwork burden, do not leave blanks that someone
else could ill in without your knowledge or consent.
Ask your advisor to send you copies o the inal, submitted documents.
These should be clearly marked with the word inal (or as submitted)
and the date the document was completed. That gives you hard evi-
dence should a discrepancy arise later.
spot the Red FlagAn advisor ills out an investor proile or a client. The proile incor-
rectly describes the client as eligible or an investment. As a result o
the misinormation in the proile, the client was put into an investment
that was not suitable or the clients income or net worth. When the
investment proved to be worthless, the loss was particularly damaging
to the client.
An advisor completes a orm to roll over his clients retirement plan to
an IRA. The advisor incorrectly describes the client as no longer work-
ing or the employer who set up the plan. The mistake renders the
transer ineligible or rollover, and the client may be required to pay
income tax on the account balance.
While illing out a lie insurance application, an advisor asserts that his
client has no history o alcohol abuse, even though her driving record
includes an alcohol-related charge. When the client dies in a car acci-
dent, the insurance company discovers the alse statement and reuses
to pay beneits to her beneiciaries.
RedFlag2
Fill in all the blanKs
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This is just or my
special clients.
did You KnoW?
There are no secret markets in which
banks trade securities. Representations
to the contrary are raudulent.
Source: US Treasury Department, 2010
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RedFlag1
RedFlag2
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Flag5
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dFlag8
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RedFlag3
YouR selF-deFense moves
Ask your advisor to veriyin writingthat his employer or company
supervises the investment.
Ask the employer or company directly whether it approves and super-
vises the investment.
I your advisor is a sole practitioner, veriy that she carries proessional
liability insurance.
Remember that investments should always be regulated or super-
vised by third parties, with the risks and possible conlicts o interest
ully disclosed.
spot the Red Flag
A broker uses the logo and guarantee o his ormer employer, an
insurance company, to sell a tax-ree corporate bond returning 32% a
year. (I the mention o a ormer employer doesnt send up red lags,
the promise o a 32% return on a tax-ree corporate bond should!)
An advisor sells away an interest in a private partnership to a client.
The client loses her $4 million and has no recourse to sue the employer.
An advisor oers a client an opportunity to earn a preerred inter-
est rate. The catch: the opportunity involves lending money to the
advisor himsel.
Your advisor presents you with a private or exclusive investment opportunity. Her
letter looks dierent somehow: maybe its not on her employers stationery, or it even
bears the logo o another company. And though youve always done business at her
oice, this time she asks you to meet at a local ca.
Look out. Your advisor could be selling awayoering you an opportunity that her
employer does not know about or supervise. That could hurt you in two ways: not only
could your money be going into unsuitable or raudulent investments, but i they dont
work out, you may have no legal recourse against the employer.
beWaRe oF Rogue advisoRs
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Ill send you
all the investment
reports.
did You KnoW?
Thirty million Americans ages 18 and
older, or 13.5% o the U.S. adult
population, were victims o consumer
raud during a one year period.
Source: Federal Trade Commissions Fraud
Forum, 2009
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RedFlag1
RedFlag2
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Flag5
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dFlag8
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maKe suRe it all adds up
What i your advisors reports are the only reports you get? Even worse, what i you
receive no regular reports at all? This happened to Bernie Mados clients, and we
know how that turned out. Mados reports showed account balances that had long
since disappeared into his boats, mansions, and cars.
spot the Red FlagAn advisor asks a 71-year-old woman to transer accounts to his new
irm. From then on, she receives no statements showing her accounts
or the value o her investments.
A client receives statements only rom his advisor. Later, he is horriied
to learn that the advisor is going to prison or raud.
An advisor accepts money rom a client or a speciic investment, but
the client never receives written conirmation o the investment pur-chase. The advisor is later ound guilty o running a Ponzi scheme.
YouR selF-deFense moves
Make sure you receive regular statements rom independent third-party
sources. Usually, these sources are the custodians o your assetseither
a brokerage irm or a trust company. Reconcile the statements with re-
ports you receive rom your advisor, and ask about any discrepancies.
I you invest in limited partnerships, real estate, or non-traded securi-
tiesany investment not valued requently or held by a separate cus-
todianveriy that the investment manager is audited annually by a
reputable independent accounting irm.
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RedFlag1
RedFlag2
RedFlag3
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dFlag8
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Red
Flag5
YouR selF-deFense moves
Never make a check payable to an advisor. Never leave the payee line
blank. I you pay a ee or the advisors services, always make the check
payable to the advisors business.
Reuse any request or a personal loan.
Question any situation that gives an advisor unlimited access to money
intended or investment (or money actually invested). That includes giv-
ing the advisor a ull power o attorney or your accounts.
Youve met with an advisor, liked what you heard, and decided to buy a inancial prod-
uct. Then, when you get out your checkbook, the advisor says, Just make it payable
to me. Ill make sure it gets invested. Or he tells you to leave the payee line blank. At
best its unethical. At worst its raud.
spot the Red FlagAn advisor deposits a clients check, made payable to himsel, into his
own account or his own use. He then issues raudulent statements,
leading the client to believe that the unds have been invested.
An advisor talks a client into lending her money. Later she declares
bankruptcy, and the client has little chance o collecting the debt.
An advisor persuades a client to give him $100,000 or an advanced
premium deposit und that will pay o her $2 million lie insurance
policy. When the client asks or her money back, she discovers that the
advisor is using the unds or his own purposes.
dont give aWaY the KeYs
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I know its
a difcult time,
but you need
to decide.
did You KnoW?
When the economy alters, its a prime
time or scams. Con artists target
people who are desperate or quick
help with their money problems.
Source: Consumers Union, July 14, 2009
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RedFlag1
RedFlag2
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Flag5
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dFlag8
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RedFlag6
YouR selF-deFense moves
Be suspicious o pressure tactics or sales pitches during a major lie
change. Its best not to make important decisions or at least a year or
two ater a personal loss.
Find an advocatea trusted amily member or riendto help you
with truly urgent matters, such as meeting tax or reporting deadlines.
spot the Red Flag
An advisor convinces a recent widow to invest her $350,000 death ben-
eit in a variable lie insurance policy. Her greatest need, however, is not
insurance but cashcash thats now tied up in the insurance policy.
A victim o Hurricane Katrina receives a loan rom the Small Business
Administration to rebuild his business. An advisor presses him to pur-
chase an annuity with the unds insteadan annuity he cant touch or
10 years without signiicant surrender ees.
A woman visits the local uneral home to make arrangements or her
mothers uneral. An advisor meets her there with paperwork to move
the mothers investments to the bank he represents. Only later does
the woman discover that he not only moved the investments, but sold
them without her knowledge.
Your lie has turned upside down. Perhaps youve lost a spouse, are going through a
diicult divorce, or lost your home. In the ace o events like these, we oten eel vul-
nerable and lack perspectivenot the best time to make big decisions. Unscrupulous
advisors know this and may swoop in with opportunities, pressing you or a decision
beore you can think straight.
step bacK
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This ones a
no-brainer.
You cant lose.
did You KnoW?
An analysis o Mados returns versus
the S&P 500, showed that he only had
three down months versus the markets
26 down months during the same
period, with a worst down month o
only 1.44% versus the markets worse
down month 14.58%.
Source: SEC investigation report againstMadoff, August 31, 2009
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RedFlag1
RedFlag2
RedFlag3
RedFlag4
Red
Flag5
RedFlag6
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dFlag8
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RedFlag7
YouR selF-deFense moves
When your advisor recommends a und, insurance contract, or retire-
ment strategy, listen careully or a air, complete discussion o the pros
and cons. Write them down. I youre hearing only pros, youre not
getting the ull story.
Ask the advisor under what circumstances the investment will not per-
orm as projected. Consider economic eventssuch as inlation or ris-
ing interest ratesas well as your personal circumstances. What hap-
pens i you need money or an unexpected event? What happens i you
die early or outlive the income stream?
Make sure the advisor ocuses on your speciic needs as much as on
the investment.
Ask or a description o the investment in writing, with a clear state-
ment o its beneits and risks. In this document, youll see that such
words asalways, guaranteed, and completelyare absent, even i
they were used requently in the verbal presentation.
spot the Red Flag
An advisor consistently sells variable annuities to seniors with the promise
o no loss o the unds invested and a high return. Seniors hear all the
advantagesan income stream they cant outlive, guaranteed death bene-
its, high yieldand sign up. The advisor, however, doesnt tell them about
the steep surrender charges and limited options or distribution. More o-
ten than not, the annuity turns out to be a bad it or the investor.
No risk, high return. I it sounds too good to be true, thats because it is. A undamen-
tal principle o investing is theres no ree lunch. I an advisor tells you otherwise,
take your business elsewhere.
looK FoR the doWnside
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This oer is good
or today only.
did You KnoW?
The Scarcity Tactic, or implying that
something is rare or scarce, is one o
the most common persuasion tactics
used in investment raud.
Source: Outsmarting Investment Fraud by
the SEC, AARP and FINRA
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RedFlag1
RedFlag2
RedFlag3
RedFlag4
Red
Flag5
RedFlag6
RedFlag7
RedFlag9
RedFlag10
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dFlag8
YouR selF-deFense moves
Give yoursel plenty o time to mull over an investment beore you de-
cide. Dont act until you ully understand what is being oered.
Speak up when you eel pressured. Any eeling o pressure is reason
enough to delay making a decision.
Know how the advisor earns her pay, and consider this as you evaluate
her advice. An advisor who practices as a iduciary will disclose upront
whether her compensation is tied to a speciic product or recommen-dation. I she doesnt mention how she is paid, ask.
Use your ree look period. Contracts or insurance policies and an-
nuities oten give you this periodusually 30 daysduring which you
can back out without incurring penalties.
spot the Red Flag
An advisor visits her clients at home, seeking a signature or a check.
Ethical advisors may also make home visits, but only or the convenience
o clients; unethical advisors invade the clients personal space to gain
an emotional advantage. (One client, visited six times by a persistent
advisor, considered signing the deal as a way to make the visits stop.)
An advisor invites clients to a ree dinner and seminar. The resulting
sense o social obligation created an implied pressure to sign up or the
advisors limited time only investment.
The bigger the decision, the more time and care it deserves. Ater all, the choices you
make today can have consequences or years to come. Ethical advisors know thisso
they give clients plenty o space or making smart choices, urging action only when
chronic indecision has hurt the clients interests in the past.
Unethical advisors see things dierently. They might push a deal to meet sales quotas
or earn bonuses. For them, the ast decision trumps the right decision.
dont let YouRselF be pRessuRed
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I can replace that
with something
better.
did You KnoW?
Churning reers to the excessive
buying and selling o securities in your
account by your broker, or the purpose
o generating commissions and without
regard to your investment objectives.
Churning can be a violation o SEC
Rules and other securities laws.
Source: SEC 2009, April 15, 2009
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RedFlag1
RedFlag2
RedFlag3
RedFlag4
Red
Flag5
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dFlag8
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RedFlag
9
YouR selF-deFense moves
Whenever you are presented with a proposed transaction, ask, What
does this cost me? In particular, ask about surrender charges, loads,
commissions, internal expenses, or other transaction charges. (The ex-
istence o charges isnt an abuse; not being told about them is.)
Always ask your advisor, What do you get rom this transaction?Third-party payment or commission isnt a red lag all by itsel. But i
the beneits or you arent enough to justiy that commission, look or
other investment options.
Consider whether the timing o proposed transactions is motivating
the recommendation. Too requently, new annuities are sold just as the
surrender charges on existing annuities have disappeared, or an advisor
suggests a replacement insurance policy or inancial product just as she
moves to a new irm.
spot the Red Flag
An advisor convinces a client to replace a variable annuity as soon
as its surrender charges have expired, telling the client that this is a
tax-ree transaction. The advisor makes $80,000 in undisclosed com-
missions on the replacement annuity. The client now aces a renewed
period o surrender charges.
At the suggestion o his advisor, a client buys an insurance policy with
an extravagant premiumnearly hal the clients annual income! The
client has no beneiciaries and doesnt need the insurance or estate
planning. What triggered the decision to buy? The advisor recommends
the policy as a tax-ree investment likely to perorm better than other
investment options.
Better or whom? Ethical inancial advisors are always on the lookout or ideas and
investments that make their clients lives better. In contrast, unscrupulous advisors typi-
cally base their buy/sell decisions on the size o their commission or ee. Because selling
sometimes eels like admitting a mistake, a suggestion to sell or something better
can be a powerul motivator or investorsand a recipe or trouble in the hands o a
scam artist.
FolloW the moneY
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Its verycomplicated.
No need to
bother you with
all the details
did You KnoW?
Financial abuse costs elders more than
$2.6 billion annually, though our in ive
cases are not reported.
Source: MetLife Mature Market Institute Study,
March 2009
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RedFlag1
RedFlag2
RedFlag3
RedFlag4
Red
Flag5
RedFlag6
RedFlag7
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dFlag8
RedFlag9
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RedFlag10
asK, asK and asK again
Financial matters are complicated. Thats why we rely on advisors in the irst place. Un-
ortunately, lack o inancial expertiseor other issues, such as dementiacan make
clients vulnerable to raud.
spot the Red Flag
An elderly client asked her bank or a better rate on her CD. She walkedout with an annuity that could not be surrendered or more than 10
years without a steep sales charge. The client had no idea that her new
investment worked very dierently rom her old one.
A client had never heard o the companies he held as individual stocks
in his advisor-managed portolio. He discovered this only ater incurring
substantial losses.
A client was unaware that his brokerage company had been named
as the trustee in his estate planning documentsand that the named
trustee could not be replaced.
YouR selF-deFense moves
Tell your advisor when you dont understand something. Ethical advi-
sors will be happy to explain: they know that the best clients are well-
inormed clients. I you dont understand the explanation, ask again.
Forget about handing over your inancial decisions to a proessional
because you dont want to be bothered. At a minimum, you must be
able to assess whether your advisor is helping you.
I necessary, get a second opinion on your advisors recommendations
or approach. The cost o another set o eyes is trivial compared with the
potential cost o raud or abuse.
Plan or the possibility that you may not be able to handle your own
aairs. Give power o attorney to a trusted riend, relative, or proes-
sional to make inancial decisions in the event that you cannot act on
your own behal.
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RemembeR
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to pRevent Financial abuse:
Trust, but always veriy. Ask your advisor to provide services with the duty
o care o a iduciary. Identiy the organizations that license or supervise him
(see the reerence list on the next page), then check their Web sites or his
background and disciplinary history, i any.
Never leave blanks on paperwork, and always ask or inal or submitted cop-ies (with the word inal or submitted stamped right on them).
Ask whether your investments are regulated or supervised by third parties.
Make sure you receive regular statements rom independent third-party
sourcesnot just rom your advisor.
I you invest in limited partnerships, real estate, or non-traded securities,
veriy that the investment manager is audited annually by a reputable inde-
pendent accounting irm.
Always make your checks payable to the advisors business or custodiannot
the advisor hersel. Question any situation that gives your advisor unlimited
access to your money.
Take your time beore any decisionand dont make major decisions just
ater a lie change, like a divorce or the death o a loved one. Find a trusted
amily member or riend to help in reviewing or making the decision.
Ask your advisor to list the pros and cons o each investment idea. I you hear
only the pros, youre not getting the ull story.
Understand how your advisor earns her pay. She should disclose any
conlicts o interestactual, potential, or perceivedthat might aect
her recommendations.
Beore agreeing to any transaction, careully consider the charges youll incur
and the timing involved.
Understand your investments. Ask i you dont understand, and get a second
opinion i necessary.
Designate a trusted riend or relative to handle your investments in case
something happens to you.
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ResouRces and useFul linKs
to Find a Financial planneR oR advisoR in YouR aReawww.CFP.net/search
www.panet.org/PlannerSearch/PlannerSearch
www.napa.org (click Find An Advisor on the let navigation panel)
to checK the bacKgRound oF a Financial planneRoR advisoR
Some o these resources may also tell you about your advisors employment history, disci-
plinary record, and registrations.
www.CFP.net/search
www.fnra.org/brokercheck
www.adviserino.sec.gov
to File a complaintStart by taking your complaint directly to the advisor and the management o your advisors
broker-dealer or investment advisor. I you ail to get a satisactory response, then contact
the agencies below.
I the complaint is about:
a broker or securities product (such as stocks or mutual unds), contact:
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA):
www.fnra.org/Investors/ProtectYoursel/p118628
Your state securities regulator:
www.nasaa.org/QuickLinks/ContactYourRegulator.cm
an insurance salesperson or product (such as insurance policies or annuities), contact:
Your state insurance commissioner:
https://eapps.naic.org/cis/fleComplaintMap.do
an investment adviser or investment advice, contact:
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC):
www.sec.gov/complaint.shtml
Your state securities regulator:
www.nasaa.org/QuickLinks/ContactYourRegulator.cm.
a CFP certifcant, contact:
CFP Board: www.CFP.net/learn/complaint.asp
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1425 K Street, NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005
P: 800 -487-1497 F: 202-379-2299
[email protected] www.CFP.net
Certiied Financial Planner Board o Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) is a nonproit certiication and
standards-setting organization whose mission is to beneit the public by granting the CFP
certiication and upholding it as the recognized standard o excellence or competent and ethical
personal inancial planning. CFP Board owns the certiication marks CFP, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL
PLANNER, and in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successully complete CFPBoards initial and ongoing certiication requirements. CFP Board currently authorizes 62,000
individuals to use these marks in the U.S. Learn more about CFP Board, CFP certiication and