How to Research Investment Products

You believe your advisor is a financial expert. He  recommends an investment of $50,000 in a particular financial product: Mutual fund, hedge fund, index fund, Exchange Traded Fund or variable annuity.  You can invest, without asking questions, because you trust your advisor or you can be an informed investor by asking questions.  So what types of questions should you ask?

Read the Prospectus?  Understand the Prospectus?

Your financial advisor provides the required prospectus. But, the information you need is buried in 60 pages of confusing, jargon-ridden text. Wall Street provides this type of disclosure knowing there is a high probability you won’t commit the time it takes to read it, or if you do, understand it.

Your advisor will make thousands of dollars of commission if you invest in the product. You should make him earn this money by answering the 20 questions in out FREE Paladin research tool.  This research tool can be used to gather data for one product or multiple products that have the same characteristics.

How To Research An Investment Product

You ask some key questions to reduce your risk of making a major mistake. You should require your advisor to respond in writing so you have a permanent record of his answer.

Download our ebook,  How to Research Investment Products, for a list of the 20 questions you can print out.  Ask the questions during an interview. Your financial advisor should certify the accuracy of his responses and you retain the information in case there is a future dispute.

Here’s the first four questions that you should be asking:

1. What is the name of the product?
2. What is the type of product? Mutual Fund, Hedge Fund, Index Fund, Exchange Traded Fund, Separate Account Manager, Fixed Annuity, Variable Annuity
3. What is the name of the company that produces the product?
4. Does your firm own all or part of the company that produces the product?

Jack Waymire worked in the financial services industry for 28 years before he left to found the Paladin Registry (www.PaladinRegistry.com) in 2004. This investor education website was based on the Principles in Jack’s first book: “Who’s Watching Your Money? The 17 Paladin Principles for Selecting a Financial Advisor.” 
The Registry also has a free service that matches investors to advisors who meet Paladin’s minimum requirements for competence and trustworthiness.

Other posts from Jack Waymire

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *