Question: How to compare the price of a client-centred fee-only financial advisor with the “free” services supplied by a broker?
Answer: In the second instance, the bill comes much later and at potentially far higher cost.
Pursuing sales people masquerading as advisors has been a major focus in the past year for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, a watchdog which shares this column’s view about the risks of investing “outside the flags“.
In one of its most high-profile recent actions, ASIC instigated court proceedings against the promoter of a fraudulent investment scheme that robbed hard-working Australians of more than $100 million in retirement savings.