Quote:
Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger
Ok with all due respect to the advisors on CP, let's not pretend like everyone who is an independent advisor is free from ripping off customers.
In fact, because they tend to have a lot less oversight and are commission based, you may find they have more incentive to rip people off. Places like Investor's Group have been known for years to engage in slimy dishonest high pressure sales tactics.
Bank staff have traditionally been more like shopping at best buy. Their staff are getting paid no matter what and tend lack knowledge.
But independent advisors, like Edward Jones, Investors Group and the like, are the Future Shop/Visions. It is totally buyer beware. You may get A+ service or you may get totally ripped off.
The problem with the current model is that bank staff are being pushed into the world of scummy places that engage in high pressure sales tactics for the sake of $$$. Pretty soon you won't even be able to get the mediocre generic investment advice that banks have been known for.
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I don't want to comment on specific companies, but I will be completely honest and say that "my" industry has done itself no favours through the years. That and there are some companies whose business model is really just stunning. Like one day the person is a butcher and the next day (with no qualifications of any stringency) they're planning peoples retirements and allocating hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's really shockingly lenient.
The fight across Canada at this point is for a "best interest" standard, where advisors would have to adhere to a policy of holding their clients best interests first. To me (and I would guess for almost every consumer) that seems like something we all figure is the case anyway. Yet, there are companies and advisors lining up to fight against that. I don't even know on what basis you could argue that you shouldn't be doing that...but here we are.
And to your point about some of these companies and their level of service/products, etc. and independent advisors in general, there is an important distinction to be made. Some of these companies sell proprietary products as opposed to being able to use what fits the client best. That is a significant diversion from independence. When you have to use certain products because your getting a pay cheque depends on it, then I can't see how that makes you independent.