I just had yet another meeting with a prospective client who trusted their bank’s in-house “financial advisor” but was smart enough to listen to their gut when they realized that the “financial advisor” was really just a sales guy planted there by the bank to generate revenue for the bank by selling you financial instruments.
Their favorite product is annuities because they appear to come with all sorts of guarantees and because they pay big commissions. And it gets better! After the surrender period is up in 5-7 years they get a shot to sell you a new annuity all over again!
The bank is controlling the “financial advisor” in the bank by providing him with an office, a list of approved products to sell, and a list of customers to sell them to! This is not anywhere close to the experience of dealing with an independent fee-only advisor. Webster’s dictionary’s definition of independence is: freedom from outside control or support. Clearly the guy in the bank is anything but that!
So, next time you are faced with a money event, find yourself an advisor who asks questions rather than pulls out a product brochure.
