"Professionals Are Frequent Victims of Bad Financial Advice and Scams, Says Paladin Registry "

"Professionals Are Frequent Victims of Bad Financial Advice and Scams, Says Paladin Registry

ROSEVILLE, Calif., Dec. 20,2005 — Professionals are typically regarded as experts in their fields. But when it comes to making financial decisions, says Jack Waymire, author of the 2003 bestseller Who’s Watching Your Money: The 17 Paladin Principles for Selecting a Financial Advisor (ISBN 0471476994, John Wiley & Sons) and founder of Paladin Registry (http://www.paladinregistry.com), professionals need help: Since 2000, many of them have lost a whopping 30% of their assets, thanks to bad financial advice and scams.

There are several reasons for their losses: Professionals are accustomed to operating under pressure and making quick business decisions. Intellectual by nature, many are paid for what they know. But in choosing who to trust with their assets, their biggest risk is what they don’t know: Most professionals readily accept recommendations from people they trust and rarely take the time to review the credentials of investment professionals who are recommended by people they know. Unfortunately, their referral sources may be paid undisclosed sums by advisors or have other conflicts of interest.

And then there’s ego, said Waymire. Because they are experts in one field, they think that expertise carries over to other specialized professions. They believe they know what they’re doing when they don’t, making them prone to selecting advisors who sound good but who may not have the competence and integrity to help them achieve their financial goals.

There are two more reasons professionals are at risk for making bad financial decisions, said Waymire. First, professionals are more visible in their communities than other types of investors. That makes them easy to find and contact, so they tend to be targets for every investment scam and sales rep in their communities.

The other reason is the professionals’ busy schedules. Only the most dogged salespeople are willing to commit the time it takes to connect with them; high quality professionals work with more accessible investors. The persistent sales rep is usually chock-full of bad advice, bent on selling investment products for big commissions.

There is only one solution, Waymire said. “Professionals have to learn to protect their own interests. They must commit some of their valuable time learning to avoid bad advice and select high quality professionals who have the knowledge and integrity to help them achieve their financial goals,” Waymire stated. “Then they will have more time for their professions and more money when they retire.”

About Paladin Registry, LLC

Founded in 2003, the Paladin Registry is a free public service that educates investors about the characteristics of good and bad advisors, provides an objective process for selecting advisors, maintains a Registry of five-star investment professionals and provides complete documentation for each advisor. Paladin is an information services company, not a financial services company, and is 100% owned by key employees who are active in the company. For more information, visit Paladin Registry at http://www.paladinregistry.com.

Contact:

Jack Waymire
Paladin Registry, LLC
916-780-8737
jack@paladinregistry.com
http://www.paladinregistry.com
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