This is the new breed of financial adviser, we have all seen the websites.
Websites full of proclamations of ‘Fully Qualified Adviser’ or ‘experts’ with supporting statistics to entice investors to use their expert advisory services. Often, their claims are supported by testimonials from ‘Mr X from Essex’, who extols the virtues of the wonderful products and services on offer and who encourages others to join in with this great opportunity.
When the balloon goes up, what happens?
In life, investments may fail, this may be for a number of reasons- some legitimate, others as a result of scams. In the latter case, the expert adviser undergoes a transformation. When disgruntled clients complain, the experts claim that they were not actually providing any advice at all.
Apparently, in a change that would impress the most able of chameleons, the advisers were merely ‘introducers’ to the investment opportunity. Funny that it takes a catastrophic event to their *clients' life savings before this bombshell is dropped.
* ( or acquaintances- as apparently, they were never clients in the first place) ,
The chameloen turns from expert to introducer- what is the difference?
Dictionary definitions of the two terms-
Introducer- “ To present (someone) by name to another in order to establish an acquaintance.“
Expert – “ A person who has extensive skill or knowledge in a particular field“
What a transformation, and overnight too. The two definitions could not be further apart.
Are you an expert or an introducer?
There is no doubt that some investment opportunties do exactly what they ‘’say on the can’’ and the expertise of those offering them is without question.
So, to distinguish between the real experts and the financial chameleons, ask a question.
“Before I agree to this investment, who takes responsibility for this advice?”
Get this in writing first, check out the credentials, qualifications, regulatory status, PI cover and experience of the advisers.
Real experts do not change the colour of their skin. They stand by their convictions and by the advice that they give. And, even in this case should things go wrong, these advisers are insured and regulated to protect clients against this very eventuality.