Quotas tied to benefits irk advisers - InvestmentNews
Imagine if you were a financial advisor and where faced with the following choice: Sell proprietary firm products (that may or may not be in your clients interest) or lose health insurance for yourself, your spouse, and your children. Sounds like a dilemma and a conflict of interest to me. I wonder if any of these agents (and it appears there are a lot of them) have ever disclosed this conflict to potential clients.....I highly doubt it.
Investment News has written a good article that names some of the firms that practice such abhorent behaviour, among them are Metlife, AXA, and Lincoln (all three have a big presence in the 403(b) market. None of these companies can honestly represent themselves as Fiduciaries (someone who is required to place your best interest first). You shouldn't do business with people who won't place your interest first.
Utilizing health insurance as a way to increase a companies sales and bottomline might be a great motivator, but it isn't right and it taints every recomendation made.
Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP, AIF
www.meridianwealth.com
