Paladin Registry Announced a New Background Checking Service for Financial Planners and Financial Advisors

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May 05, 2010, 07:40 ET

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Financial planners and financial advisors claim to be trustworthy investment experts. They also claim their sales advice is always in the best interests of investors. Then they claim their specialized knowledge will help investors achieve their financial goals. How do investors know which advisors are telling the truth and which advisors are making exaggerated claims to sell them investment and insurance products?

Paladin Registry has launched a Financial Advisor Due Diligence (FADD) service that helps investors determine who is telling the truth about their credentials and ethics and who is omitting or misrepresenting information to sell products. For example, does an advisor really have an MBA from a major university? Does the advisor really have 10 years of applicable investment experience? Is the planner really a CFP®? Does the advisor really have a clean compliance record?

Jack Waymire, Paladin's founder and author of the highly regarded book Who's Watching Your Money? The 17 Paladin Principles for Selecting a Financial Advisor (ISBN 0471476994), observed, "Most investors accept what is said to them in sales pitches. Very few investors ask advisors to document their claims and even fewer take time to validate advisors' claims. Unfortunately, less scrupulous advisors know this about investors and take advantage of them by making excessive claims that help them sell products. It may be years before investors figure out they have been duped, but by then it is always too late."

It makes sense to check the accuracy of advisor claims before signing a service agreement or contract. However, this is a complex, time-consuming process. Investors have to contact several organizations that maintain advisor data: FINRA, SEC, State Securities Commissioners, CFP® Board of Standards, law enforcement, credit reporting agencies, and others. In addition, investors have to understand what they are seeing or hearing.

Waymire commented, "For a $295 fee, investors can hire Paladin to do this work for them. It takes about 15 days to conduct a comprehensive background check. Then Paladin issues a Findings Report that documents the results of the background check so investors have permanent records. We believe our FADD service is a game changer because advisors will no longer be investors' sole source of information when they make advisor selection and retention decisions. Our independence and objectivity will help investors make better decisions when they select advisors who will influence or control their financial decisions."

ABOUT PALADIN REGISTRY

Paladin was established in 2003 to provide information services to investors who use the services of financial planners and financial advisors. Our services include background checks, quality ratings, online documentation, and a service that matches investors to local planners and advisors with five star quality ratings. Visit Paladin's website (http://www.PaladinRegistry.com) for additional information.