Financial planners are heavily regulated, why not all the other money, investing, property and share advisers and traders out there?

Did you know, that even with Financial Planners…

of retirement advice from financial advisers
33% was poor, 58% was adequate and 3% was good

survey by Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC)

This is despite financial planning licensing, extensive regulation, the many tips and tools available for finding a successful and trustworthy financial adviser. Let alone the hundreds of sites that compare, rate and award people and products in the financial planning and investment industries (see Guru Cops and the BiG Challenge Days 9 and 10 ).

Advisers and experts other than licensed financial planners

It’s hard to get good advice from a licensed planner, how can you find and rate investing information and advice from unregulated or unlicensed, so called experts or gurus?

You can compare quantitative data and ‘success’ fairly easily when you look at the financial performance of a company, share, fund or product. But how do you compare the success of other, often more qualitative, wealth creation vehicles, business, share and share trading, and property investing strategies?

There are many sites, tips and tools to help you choose financial advisers (see Day 9 and 10). They’ll also help you rate and compare these other providers, their:

• qualifications
• experience – generally and with the specific product or strategy. How many years, typical clients and testimonials. Can you speak to their clients?
• memberships of industry associations and professional bodies
• ongoing professional development
• commitment to ongoing service – what will you get from your investment
• fees – up front, ongoing, service, administration
• independence: relationships with other providers – any commissions, benefits or bonuses they receive; suitability of their product or service to my needs

GURU COPS and BiG’s Traffic Light guru rating system look at and I suggest you get familiar with:

• Their STRATEGIES – and any pros and cons (are they ones anyone could use, or do they involve complex or specific skills or resources. Are they conservative or higher risk?)
• Any CONTRARIANS (Cons) – Analysts and Commentators, peers, or others who may have ‘issues’ with the Guru, their strategies, or practices.
• Any GURU COPS – individuals or organisations (government and non -government) there to protect us from others or ourselves
• Their ASSOCIATES  (Pros) – business associates or other connections. Supportive articles or comments
• Any experiences – of clients and others – good and not so good

Based on what I’ve discovered online, BiG’s traffic light system rates gurus – red, yellow, or green:

Red – Stop and think: there appears to be negative information and feedback. Some ‘Guru Cops’ or contrarians may be critical of them and/or their methods or strategies may not suit most investors, be risky or less conservative than others.

Yellow – Get ready to go: There are no, or few contrarians (Cons) but still not enough information or recognition to confidently accelerate. Their strategies may be complex or out of the ordinary, and you may need special skills or resources to succeed with them.

Green – Good to Go: From all the information and experiences of ours and others, following them and their systems should lead to successful investing for most investors.

BiG’s rating system isn’t complete, nor foolproof. I hope it and BiG’s resources help you save time and money and to quickly compare advice and information.