Where to find a fee-only advisor

An "established" accounting firm was Arthur Anderson and it went down with Enron... be carefull about "established track record"... people hide errors to establish good records....

I wonder if a paid consultant would bluntly tell you that you should put your money in the bank in a garanteed investment certificate and let them worry about investing it...

There are things you need to know like RSP, but the big banks will tell you.

If you want advice on which stock to buy, it is well known that these advice have little value... our universities are full with Doctor in finance and they make money from teaching, not investing... and they know that those who pay for advice do not beat the market.

Even here, you are lead to believe that you may be an investor... they will not write to stop wasting your time on financial blog and get a life.

I do not believe that the issue for Canadians is to know on which stock to invest or in which shoping mall to find bargains but to pressure the state for a simple tax law and simple income tax law... there are countries like Norway where you do not need to fill your income statement, the state does it for you... If the state is not fair with you, it will not want to fill your income tax statement... to say it was your fault... consult financial advisors and lawyers...

The solution is not to consult financial advisors and lawyers but to reform the state.

How do you go about negotiating appropriate fees for your account once your advisor agrees to sell F-class funds? What are appropriate fees. There is no point in getting your MERs reduced if you end up paying more for the advice than you should. The only advantgage is the tax write off. I would love to see the next column on this issue because it is harder to research on the internet.

Being in the industry for the last 17 years - I consider myself a full service Broker not a Financial Planner.
I can not tell my clients a $1,000,000 will buy them a loaf of bread in 20 years time and still sleep at night.
My clients have a choice of fee-based or commission based account management.
Unlike a Financial Planner, I can have accounts in all cash , GIC's, equities or a variety of other investment products based on market expections and client comfort.

Most of those with all the fancy credentials are ALL so-called FINANCIAL ADVISORS even those with an IFIC mutual fund certificate are called FINANCIAL ADVISORS.

HERE IS THE SHOCKING NEWS -- ALL THESE ADVISORS WORK WITHIN a very strict guideline as set out by the MUTUAL FUND DEALERS ASSOC. and IROC. These organizations dictate where and the kind of investments can be made by the advisor on behalf of the client.

The client no longer has the final say as to where the client wants to invest when dealing with a government designated or approved representative/financial advisor.

I am a former Mutual Fund , RSP, NON RSP, and NON RETIREMENT REGISTERED FUND SALES REP. I have never held myself out as an advisor under the terms and controls of those government agencies.

MY GOAL WAS TO MAKE MONEY FOR THE CLIENT - not show a loss.

When you move clients to safer more profitable products the governing agencies get out of shape.

The MFDA works for itself not clients.

Anyone with a high school education can read up regularly on the internet, watch financial television programs, and read a few well-referenced books intermittently and come up with a basic, competent, and sufficient financial plan for life. Financial planners and advisors are simply not necessary to society. I'm sorry to burst the ego balloon of any financial advisors out there, but surely you guys are intelligent enough to pick something else to do even within the financial field if that's what your skills limit you to.

Gordon, thanks for your column in helping to explain the compensation differences to consumers. As an advisor (31 years in the business) the two questions we always encourage consumers to consider are (1) what they are in fact paying and just, if not even more importantly, (2) what exactly is it that they are paying for?

Our practice falls in between two of your definitions. We would be classified as "fee-based", but we do not charge fees for the actual planning, counselling and servicing work we do for our clients. There are forms of "embedded compensation" in most financial products, including private investment counsels. We derive compenstion from that and do not charge separately for the work we do. And herein lies the point. We actually do planning and servicing work for our clients For many Canadian investors the extent of advisor involvement is sending quarterly statements. That is why, in addition to what investors are paying and how they are paying it, they need to ask what they getting in return from their advisor or institution. In far too many cases they are paying "money for nothing".

I'm also the owner of a fee-only financial planning firm and was formally affiliated with Macdonald, Shymko & Company for 12 years. We're located in North Vancouver and the company's name is TPG Financial Services Inc. We also provide comprehensive accounting services as well, perfect for business owners.

I think it's ridiculous to even have a financial advisor. It's so easy to find a no-load mutual fund that are run by investment professionals that don't charge any fees except for low maintenance fees. Why anyone in their right mind would pay an investment advisor to skim off several percent of their life savings every year is beyond me. Do some research and find good mutual funds. I also got some good tips at http://www.chimpout.com/forum

To Joshua James....thank you for you're link that directs one to a white supremacy forum, which is the most disgusting thing Ive ever come across. You should be ashamed, and I hope no one else has the misfortune of clinking on you're link.

Thanks K Ward for the heads up on the drivel being solicited by Joshua James. He posts to every new blog under a different name with the same link. I personally avoided checking out the link because it smelled fishy to me.
Shame on you Joshua James (and all your other aliases).

I saw a comment from one of the bloggers regarding his investment with a large finacial institution affiliate where the advisor defrauded him I would like to communicate with him as I have a similar situation. I wonder if it was the same financial institution affiliate??

Great Post. I am Sick of this Post

Actually, I agree some of the views of the author and some not.

Thanks
Raushan