Get Wise to Your Advisor: How to Reach Your Investment Goals Without Getting Ripped Off

Praise for Get Wise to Your Advisor " Get Wise to Your Advisor is a bracing wake-up call for investors everywhere. Steve Lockshin shows that while many financial advisors do great work, others work in a system where their own self-interest inevitably trumps the interests of their clients. This sharp and accessible guide can help you separate the solid from the slippery and put your own financial life on firmer ground." — Daniel Pink , New York Times bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind "In an era when both good and bad advice abounds in every channel of the advisory market, Get Wise to Your Advisor demystifies the options for the uninitiated investor. Wisdom is often borne of skepticism, and with Get Wise to Your Advisor , Lockshin provides a practical guide to help clients be thoughtful, careful, and prudent in selecting and assessing a financial advisor. His blunt and forthright overview of the tricks of unscrupulous practitioners will no doubt keep many from being duped. Bravo!" — Sterling Shea , Managing Director, Head of Advisory Programs, Barron's "A top-ranked Barron's advisor with an admirable sense of social justice serves as an intrepid guide through a complex, conflict-riddled industry. Steve is fighting for what's right for individuals seeking investment advice, armed with fluency in behavioral economics, a level head, and a vision of how technology is changing Wall Street, finally." — Jon Stein, CFA , founder and CEO, Betterment.com " Get Wise to Your Advisor is a must-read. Lockshin simplifies and demystifies much of the Wall Street mumbo jumbo that inhibits investor success. If you're not 100% sure that your advisor is on your side, Steve's book will help you find out and, if necessary, shop for a new advisor who puts your interests first." — Curtis Polk , Vice Chairman, Charlotte Bobcats (NBA); manages the financial and business affairs of Michael Jordan and his related companies

Preface ix Chapter 1 Is This Any Way to Choose an Advisor? 1 Bad Financial Medicine 3 A Murky Industry 7 “You Should Meet My Guy” 11 Key Points 17 Chapter 2 Wall Street’s Dirty Secrets 19 The More Things Change 23 “You Don’t Understand ” 28 Misplaced Interests 33 Brokers and Advisors 35 Wall Street Brokers versus Main Street Consumers 37 Peddling Products 39 Omission versus Commission 42 Key Points 45 Chapter 3 The Wall Street Whitewash 47 Image Is Everything 49 Shopping Shortcuts 52 Vegas Rules 59 Key Points 65 Chapter 4 Hold Your Nose: Other Advisor Options 67 Bank–Based Advisors 70 Private Banking and Trust Departments 72 Asset Managers 74 Insurance Salesmen 76 Fee–Only Planners 78 Other Options 79 Technology’s Triumph 81 Key Points 86 Chapter 5 The Case for Independent RIAs 89 The Trouble with Fee–Only Advisors 92 The Case for Independent RIAs 94 Buyer Beware 99 Do All RIAs Live Up to Their Title? 102 Disorienting Disclosure 105 RIAs: A Good Place to Start 115 Key Points 115 Chapter 6 Our Lazy Brains: Why We’re So Bad at Choosing Advisors (and Investing Our Own Money) 117 The Gut versus the Mind 121 Salesmanship 101 125 What You See Is All There Is 128 My Advisor Is Handsome, So Why Am I Broke? 130 Why We Stink at Managing Our Own Money 136 Key Points 142 Chapter 7 How to Be Your Own Investment Advisor 145 Don’t Let Costs Mug Your Returns 156 How to Win the Game by Not Playing 163 Software–Powered Investing 179 Math First, Emotion Second 183 Why You (Probably) Still Need a Financial Advisor 184 Key Points 185 Chapter 8 Choosing an Advisor: Know What You Don’t Know 187 You Are the Family CEO 191 Core Principle: DUTY—Clients before Profits 193 Core Principle: SAFEGUARDS 198 Core Principle: PROFESSIONALISM 201 Decoding your Advisor’s Answers 205 After the Interview 215 Key Points 217 Chapter 9 Fees and Ice Cream: Baskin–Robbins Got It Right, Why Can’t We? 219 Chocolate and Vanilla 221 Baskin–Robbins 31 3 Flavors? 223 Key Pricing Ingredients (Building a Custom Sundae) 227 Chapter 10 Change the Game 231 Why Wait? 240 Afterword: Advisors in Perspective 243 About the Author 247 Index  

Steven D. Lockshin is the founder and former CEO of Convergent Wealth Advisors, one of the nation's leading wealth management firms, providing investors with objective advice, flexible investment solutions, and transparency. He helped pioneer the open architecture approach to investing and was an early adopter of asset allocation strategies for high-net-worth clients.