The Long and Winding Road
When I saw the classified ad in the newspaper for a Financial Planner for a Trust Company I knew that was what I wanted to do – help people get a handle on their finances and plan for the future. My dream job!
I worked for a bank and they didn’t recognize financial planning at that time so I took the six correspondence courses over three years at my own expense and passed the grueling six-hour exam the first time (yeah, me!), and became a Certified Financial Planner.
Related: Fee Only Financial Planner vs. Commission Based Advisor
Unfortunately, the bank still didn’t recognize my achievements but I worked my way up to become a Financial Advisor which sounded fine to me, I could still practice what I had learned.
However, this is where my ideas started falling apart. Banks are like retail stores and they make their profits by selling financial products, and they want to entice customers from other financial institutions with cleverly packaged products that sound great.
As much as you may like your financial professional, make no mistake about it, they are compensated for selling bank products and bringing in more money from other financial institutions.
Related: Can You Trust Advice From Your Bank?
The packaged investment and credit products they sell are pretty much “one-size-fits-most” and there is very little individual about them. Since it’s human nature not to look foolish or ignorant, most customers will nod knowingly and sign on the dotted lines.
The bank and I have since parted ways and I “retired” several years ago so things might have changed in the meantime but I seriously doubt it.
Now is my chance to do what I originally dreamed of.
From my experience I have found that many (if not most) people have little interest or information about one of the most important things in their lives – money, and it doesn’t seem to be taught in school.
Related: Why Your Financial Plan Sucks
It is my intention to post articles on investing and personal finances and help those who are interested in what I have to say to formulate their own individual financial plans.
Good stuff Boomer. I feel the same – I want to share what I know, what I’ve experienced and what I’ve learned from others as well.
Thanks for your comment FC. In my experience I have found that many (if not most) people have no clue about investing and just follow tips and advice from so called ” experts”. All aspects of personal finance should be a required subject in school but it is a sadly neglected area.