What Is a "Certified Senior Advisor"?
I read this article from the front page of the New York Times this morning, and I thought that folks might be interested. There are so many good advisors out there, I hate to hear stories about the ones who don't put their clients' interests foremost.Here is a summary of the article, courtesy of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys:
Tens of thousands of financial advisers are working hand-in-hand with insurance companies to market themselves to older Americans using impressive-sounding credentials like “certified elder planning specialist,” “registered financial gerontologist,” “certified retirement financial adviser” and “certified senior adviser.” Many of these titles can be earned in just a few days from for-profit businesses, and sound similar to established credentials, like certified financial planner, that require years of study, difficult tests and extensive background checks.
“The degree isn’t worth the paper it’s written on,” said T. Kevin McElreath, a financial adviser in Milford, Mass., who took the certified senior adviser exam but does not use the credential. For many agents, he said, “it’s a scam, a way to put a title on a business card that impresses gullible seniors.” Many graduates of these short programs say they only want to help older Americans.
But they are frequently dispensing financial counsel they are unqualified to offer, advocates for the elderly say. And thousands of them are paid by some of the country’s largest insurance companies — including Allianz Life, Old Mutual Financial Network and American Equity Investment Life Insurance — to sell elderly clients complicated investments that economists say most retirees should never own.
Source: New York Times (8 July 2007)
Source for post: The Estate Planning Law Group blog.
