{"id":5040,"date":"2014-11-18T05:37:34","date_gmt":"2014-11-18T13:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.paladinregistry.com\/?p=5040"},"modified":"2021-01-22T01:25:46","modified_gmt":"2021-01-22T06:25:46","slug":"financial-advisor-for-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Your Financial Advisor for \u201cReal\u201d?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.paladinregistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/financial-advisor-for-real.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"174\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-5044\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.paladinregistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/financial-advisor-for-real-300x174.jpg\" alt=\"financial advisor for real\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/financial-advisor-for-real-300x174.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/financial-advisor-for-real.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>I believe I should start off by educating those who are already using a financial \u201cadvisor\u201d (using that term loosely here) and\/or <strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/thinking-of-working-with-an-advisor-ask-this-question-first\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">considering using a financial \u201cadvisor\u201d for the first time<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.&nbsp; Do you know the main differences between those individuals known as stockbrokers, financial advisors, investment advisors, financial consultants, independent RIAs, etc.?&nbsp; I\u2019m guessing many readers would say no \u2013 so here\u2019s the main questions to ask (a bit of knowledge goes a <strong>LONG<\/strong> way) to find a REAL financial advisor:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Would you rather have your advisor be legally obligated to always have your best financial interests in mind, or just do what is considered to be least acceptable (aka \u201csuitable\u201d) for your financial situation (definitions will follow)?<\/li>\n<li>Would you rather pay commissions to your financial \u201cadvisor\u201d (and wonder if those calls to make portfolio changes are helping you more or are boosting your advisor\u2019s monthly production numbers), or pay a fee (%-based on the investments managed for you), a retainer, and\/or an hourly fee so there is less potential conflicts of interest as to what your advisor recommends you do with your money?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Those are the ONLY 2 questions you really need to ask your \u201cadvisor\u201d \u2013 if the \u201cadvisor\u201d is NOT a <strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/resources\/facts\/financial-fiduciaries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fiduciary (legally obligated to do what is in your best interests)<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, you don\u2019t even need to ask the second question\u2026find a financial advisor who is a fiduciary.&nbsp; The fiduciary term CAN apply to financial advisors, investment advisors, IARs, CFPs, etc., so be sure to <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/iwd.paladinregistry.com\/advisors-2\/financial-advisor-fiduciary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">ask if they are ALWAYS acting as a fiduciary for clients and can prove it in writing<\/span> <\/a><\/strong>\u2013 these same exact financial titles may not mean that they ALWAYS operate in a fiduciary capacity.<\/p>\n<p>Suitability is just a way of saying, \u201cI could\u2019ve sold you that annuity that only charged you 3.5% upfront and had better investment choices, but I decided to sell you this annuity that has not quite as many good investment choices as the other annuity and I get paid more\u20265% upfront instead\u201d \u2013 sounds ethical, right?&nbsp; As long as the firm that the advisor works for deems that the purchase of this annuity is suitable for the client\u2019s financial situation, there is nothing to stop the advisor from doing it legally.&nbsp; Do you think that is RIGHT?&nbsp; Calm down \u2013 I didn\u2019t make the rules\u2026I\u2019m just explaining them (since I\u2019m sure many of you who are reading this are wondering AT THIS VERY MOMENT if your \u201cadvisor\u201d has done this to you?)!<\/p>\n<p>Commissions can cloud the judgment of advisors, so it\u2019s best to eliminate those who still are paid under this old methodology (even if it\u2019s only part of the way they get paid).&nbsp; <strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/wall-street\/financial-advisors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">If your \u201cadvisor\u201d is paid via commissions for sales of financial products, it\u2019s time to fire this person and find a REAL financial advisor instead<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.&nbsp; I know that hiring a new advisor can be difficult but now you\u2019re armed with the 2 questions above \u2013 things just got a lot easier for you to narrow down the eligible field of qualified financial advisors (aka fiduciaries) to select as your partner for your ongoing financial situation.<\/p>\n<p>Knowledge is power \u2013 now that you have this knowledge, hire a REAL financial professional and encourage others to do the same.&nbsp; Thank you \u2013 you can now help others to make smarter financial decisions also\u2026and make the world a better place.&nbsp; Feels good, doesn\u2019t it?&nbsp; You\u2019re welcome!<\/p>\n<p>Find an experienced financial advisor who is ALWAYS acting as a fiduciary, works for an RIA firm, earns his\/her money from fees (NOT commissions), believes in having an abundance of investment choices for clients, and has the heart &amp; demeanor of a teacher &#8211; NOT a salesman &#8211; and chances are you\u2019ve found the right advisor to help you prepare and plan for your future.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>To learn more about Martin Federici, view his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/financial-advisor\/dallas-pennsylvania\/Martin.Federici.Jr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paladin Registry profile<\/a><\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I believe I should start off by educating those who are already using a financial \u201cadvisor\u201d (using that term loosely here) and\/or considering using a financial \u201cadvisor\u201d for the first time.&nbsp; Do you know the main differences between those individuals known as stockbrokers, financial advisors, investment advisors, financial consultants, independent RIAs, etc.?&nbsp; I\u2019m guessing many readers would say no \u2013 so here\u2019s the main questions to ask (a bit of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":5044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[325],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advisors"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Is Your Financial Advisor for \u201cReal\u201d? - Paladin Registry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Would you rather have your financial advisor be legally obligated to always have your best financial interests in mind, or not? That is the first question.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Your Financial Advisor for \u201cReal\u201d? - Paladin Registry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Would you rather have your financial advisor be legally obligated to always have your best financial interests in mind, or not? That is the first question.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Paladin Registry Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/marty.federici\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-11-18T13:37:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-22T06:25:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/financial-advisor-for-real.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Martin Federici, Jr.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mfadvisers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@PaladinRegistry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Martin Federici, Jr.\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/\",\"name\":\"Is Your Financial Advisor for \u201cReal\u201d? - Paladin Registry\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/financial-advisor-for-real.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-11-18T13:37:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-22T06:25:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cb07bbd1f4f1e3dda452fe9bc8abe85e\"},\"description\":\"Would you rather have your financial advisor be legally obligated to always have your best financial interests in mind, or not? That is the first question.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/financial-advisor-for-real.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/financial-advisor-for-real.jpg\",\"width\":620,\"height\":360},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Advisors\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/category\/advisors\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Is Your Financial Advisor for \u201cReal\u201d?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Paladin Registry Blog\",\"description\":\"Helping You Make Better Financial Decisions\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cb07bbd1f4f1e3dda452fe9bc8abe85e\",\"name\":\"Martin Federici, Jr.\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/martin-federici-bio-pic-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/martin-federici-bio-pic-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Martin Federici, Jr.\"},\"description\":\"Martin Federici is happily married to his beautiful wife since 1999, have 3 young active children, is an avid sports enthusiast (especially basketball), healthy eater, regular exerciser, CEO of 2 practices with a fantastic friend and business partner, practicing financial advisor\/planner since 2005, and loves his clients - life is good!\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.mfadvisers.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/marty.federici\",\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/martinfederici\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/mfadvisers\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/author\/martin-federici\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is Your Financial Advisor for \u201cReal\u201d? - Paladin Registry","description":"Would you rather have your financial advisor be legally obligated to always have your best financial interests in mind, or not? That is the first question.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is Your Financial Advisor for \u201cReal\u201d? - Paladin Registry","og_description":"Would you rather have your financial advisor be legally obligated to always have your best financial interests in mind, or not? That is the first question.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/","og_site_name":"Paladin Registry Blog","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/marty.federici","article_published_time":"2014-11-18T13:37:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-01-22T06:25:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":620,"height":360,"url":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/financial-advisor-for-real.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Martin Federici, Jr.","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@mfadvisers","twitter_site":"@PaladinRegistry","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Martin Federici, Jr.","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/","url":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/","name":"Is Your Financial Advisor for \u201cReal\u201d? - Paladin Registry","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/financial-advisor-for-real.jpg","datePublished":"2014-11-18T13:37:34+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-22T06:25:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cb07bbd1f4f1e3dda452fe9bc8abe85e"},"description":"Would you rather have your financial advisor be legally obligated to always have your best financial interests in mind, or not? That is the first question.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/financial-advisor-for-real.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/financial-advisor-for-real.jpg","width":620,"height":360},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/financial-advisor-for-real\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Advisors","item":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/category\/advisors\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Is Your Financial Advisor for \u201cReal\u201d?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/","name":"Paladin Registry Blog","description":"Helping You Make Better Financial Decisions","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cb07bbd1f4f1e3dda452fe9bc8abe85e","name":"Martin Federici, Jr.","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/martin-federici-bio-pic-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/martin-federici-bio-pic-96x96.png","caption":"Martin Federici, Jr."},"description":"Martin Federici is happily married to his beautiful wife since 1999, have 3 young active children, is an avid sports enthusiast (especially basketball), healthy eater, regular exerciser, CEO of 2 practices with a fantastic friend and business partner, practicing financial advisor\/planner since 2005, and loves his clients - life is good!","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.mfadvisers.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/marty.federici","http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/martinfederici","https:\/\/x.com\/mfadvisers"],"url":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/author\/martin-federici\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5040"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5040"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10398,"href":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5040\/revisions\/10398"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}