{"id":9204,"date":"2018-08-13T06:45:54","date_gmt":"2018-08-13T13:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.paladinregistry.com\/?p=9204"},"modified":"2018-08-13T06:45:54","modified_gmt":"2018-08-13T13:45:54","slug":"are-your-financial-advisors-credentials-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paladinregistry.com\/blog\/advisors\/are-your-financial-advisors-credentials-real\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Your Financial Advisor’s Credentials Real?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When we face critical decisions, many of us turn to professionals (financial advisors, CPAs, attorneys) who have specialized knowledge that will help us make the right decisions. One way to determine if professionals have the knowledge you need is to check the quality of their credentials (certifications, designations). For example, a professional with a CPA designation may provide better advice than an accountant who could pass the CPA exam. The same is true for financial planners. A CFP may provide better advice than a planner who did not go through the training and pass the necessary exams.<\/p>\n

High-quality certifications and designations can make your selection process simpler, but it is also a source of hidden risk. This is particularly applicable to the financial service industry, where 35 percent of the certifications and designations are not what they appear to be. The organizations that sponsored the certifications have gone out of business or advisors buy designations that they use to convince consumers they are real financial experts.<\/p>\n

Consider the healthcare industry. When you meet a physician in an emergency room, you can safely assume (99 percent of the time) that he or she is qualified, based on eight years of college and two years of internship and residency. Or how about the legal industry? A lawyer has seven years of college and must pass a difficult state bar exam in order to obtain a license to practice law.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, these types of requirements do not extend to the financial service industry. The minimum age to be an advisor is 18 and there are no minimum experience or education requirements, not even a high school diploma. We say unfortunate because advisors can impact your financial well-being just like doctors impact your physical well-being. Even worse, financial advisors can impact when you retire, how you live during retirement and your financial security late in life when you need it the most.<\/p>\n

It may be obvious, but why do financial advisors use fake or low-quality credentials to deceive investors? They know you are seeking a competent, financial advisor you can trust. They use the credentials to convince you they are financial experts \u2013 even if they have six months of experience and bought the credentials.<\/p>\n

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