Understanding Money: Ten Characteristics of Bad Financial Advisors

There are people and entities out there that can only be defined as financial con artists. They promote or create programs designed for one thing only, to steal your money. Don’t get them confused with the usual rip off artist types though. I am referring to people and entities that pee on our legs and tell that it’s raining with their overpriced products, services and programs.

They may even wear the title of financial planner or advisor. However, make no mistake that they usually plan to take as much of your money as possible. If you let them advise you into a financial sink hole they think it’s your fault. Their primary objective is to make the biggest commission that they can off of you. So what if the product or service they sold you is trash.

Their offerings create regular shortfalls and setbacks for Joe Public and their customer’s income growth objectives. By design the overall goal of these cons is to destroy the financial future of those they serve and rob them of their retirement dollars. No, they won’t tell you this up front because most of them do not look further down the road to see what they are doing. They choose blind ignorance so they can deny all guilt and responsibility later.

The major trick to their deceptive magic show is to make it do what it does without Joe Public ever being the wiser to their ploys or devices. It’s like they have you watching them take the rabbit out of the hat over here, so you are unaware of their other hand riffling through your wallet or purse.

They think out their deceptions very thoroughly and hope you don’t notice the fluff over the shine of their buff job. I have outlined 10 things you must understand when dealing with one of these legal yet unethical snakes.

1. They do not care about your family or your financial future

2. They want your time so that they can get more of your money

3. They think you are ill informed or financially illiterate (the concepts they teach you will induce more financial ignorance)

4. They will offer the most expensive programs or strategies for your family and won’t take what’s in your best interest into consideration ever

5. They use by any means necessary processes to steal as much of your money as possible each and every month

6. They do not care how their inferior products will impact your life

7. They will lie, cheat and even forge your signature to get what they want from you

8. They are experts at reading your body language, facial expressions, and non-verbal cues

9. Their interest in your family is fake and superficial

10. They will pay you complements to soften you up so that they can sell you more of their products or services at higher amounts

When you have been done over by one of these types, you may feel very much like you have been financially raped. You may discover that you want out of the deal the next day (buyer’s remorse). After all they make their offers so irresistible that you “must invest” in their suggested products or services immediately or risk losing something all together. Sound familiar?

Their programs may be legit but when stacked up against genuine solutions they fall short. Their income busting advice won’t land them in jail so you must be prepared to compare apples to rotten apples. You have to know how to look for evidence of worms.

The next time one of these con artists sets his or her sights on you, I challenge you to be prepared and less trusting. Ask if the item or service on offer is something they would proudly recommend to one of their loving relatives or friend. Then, wait for an answer. If you are met with silence after this little test, I suggest you run and politely tell them that your decision is final.