Unscrupulous Financial Advisers Prey On The Elderly and Poorly Educated

Managing personal finance successfully is becoming one of the most important area in life, and less sophisticated investors are in need of good financial advice to deal with the complexities of personal finance. But new research finds that the financial advising industry preys on the elderly and poorly educated. Often advisers don’t act in the best interest of the customers and they steer clients to inappropriate products. Bad financial advice can cost unsophisticated investors tens of thousands of dollars in loss. The study shows that “the median settlement for misconduct is $40,000, and a quarter of damages exceed $120,000.” Also, the research finds the disturbing trend that “advisers who engage in misconduct aren’t necessarily forced out of the industry. Instead, after being fired from their previous firm, they are often able to find jobs at new firms that make it a habit of hiring ethically challenged advisers.” The best way to protect against bad advise is to educate yourself about personal finance.