RISCARIO INSIDER: advisors

Showing posts with label advisors. Show all posts

August 17, 2014

CHECK YOUR INSURANCE STATEMENTS FOR MISTAKES

My client’s annual statement for universal life insurance showed a tax-free death benefit of the face amount ($2,000,000) plus the investment returns ($317,079). Do the math and what’s the total? I get $2,317,079. The insurer showed $3,317,079 — an extra million dollars. I contacted them and got a quick response. They’re issuing a letter of apology and a corrected statement.

Luckily, my client didn’t have whole life insurance where the lack of transparency makes mistakes almost impossible to spot.

Big insurers have big resources but even leaders in corporate governance make mistakes. That’s because computers are programmed and the limited testing is generally done internally. The systems are expected to be 100% functional when launched. In contrast, Gmail was in beta for from April 2004 to July 2009.

Time bombs

When I developed products, we focused on launching new offerings. We maximized our resources by delaying work which could be completed later. For launch, we needed

marketing tools: an announcement, PowerPoint presentations for the marketing directors to use with advisors, computer-based tools for advisors to prepare proposals for their clients
administration support: printing the policy contract (basics like accepting premiums, paying compensation etc were already part of the administration systems and rarely required major modifications)

To speed up times, we minimized printed materials like marketing guides. They looked nice but added costs and created delays. We then had leeway to make “last-minute” changes.

Month-to-month, universal life insurance policies operate much like bank accounts with deposits (premiums, investment returns) and withdrawals (mortality charges, administration charges). The major calculations took place on policy anniversaries. That meant we had almost a year to get ready.

Other capabilities like inforce illustrations (projecting performance after purchase) could be delayed for years. Manual calculations could be done in the interim, if necessary. I once got approval to add two unbudgeted head count. During a hiring freeze. That’s because we could no longer defer some work.

The Human Element

Staff leave. Staff forget. Staff are under pressure to meet deadlines. Miscommunication occurs. Documentation may not be comprehensive enough or clear enough.

Administration systems change. Older products might be on legacy systems. Migrating them to the latest system is much more difficult than upgrading from a version of Windows (see challenges in trying to upgrade to Windows 8 or from 8 to 8.1).

Be Vigilant

Mistakes occur. You might not be sympathetic but you can be vigilant. You don’t need a PhD in mathematics or to be an actuary (though both help). Instead, be a detective. Question what looks odd or what you don’t understand. You’re entitled to ask.

Links

PS Your advisor should be looking for mistakes on your behalf.

August 10, 2014

PRICE MATCHING BY BUYERS AND PRICE MISMATCHING BY SELLERS

The price match should have reduced the price by a dollar from $7 to $6. Instead, the cashier reduced the price to a dollar --- a reduction of $6. The customer noticed but didn’t say anything. This wasn’t for her personal benefit but to protect the cashier from getting in trouble for the mistake.

That’s noble, but would the customer in this real-life example have been concerned about the cashier if the price were higher than expected?

Justification

We’re great at justifying to get advantages. Have you heard or used arguments like these

stores overprice
you didn’t make a mistake
you had to do extra work to get the price match
the store doesn’t lose money overall because unaware customers are paying their higher price (the store didn’t lower their price even when you showed them they were charging more)
the store should train their staff properly
if the store had the lowest price, there would have been no need for a price match

What’s The Real Price?

You can only compare prices when different retailers sell the same product and publish their prices. They’ll often match prices when you provide proof. Sometimes they’ll reduce their prices temporarily to match a competitor (e.g., when we ended 10 years without a TV).

Mismatching: When You Can’t Compare

When you’re buying financial products, what’s the lowest price? The options might be tailored to you, which makes comparisons difficult. There’s rarely an easy way to check online. Prices might not be negotiable, even if you have proof. While you may not be able to much about the price, you can get better value by selecting a better advisor.

When you can’t compare make good comparisons, you risk getting poor options. For instance, Freakonomics found that real estate agents encouraged clients to buy/sell quickly, rather than wait for a better price … but left their own properties on the market for longer and sold for higher prices (see the video in tips for first-time homebuyers).

Sellers have ways of justifying their actions

the higher margin choice isn’t necessarily “bad”
selling takes work and maybe you took extra time
showing more options might confuse you and stop you from buying (see the jam experiment)
you’re better off buying what they have in stock
you’re not forced to buy

Both buyers and sellers have ways to justify their actions. Buyer beware. Seller beware too.

July 7, 2014

WHY DO YOU CARE WHAT YOUR INSURANCE ADVISOR GETS PAID?

Life insurance offers solid protection and powerful tax advantages when properly implemented. If buying puts you in a better position, why does the amount of money your advisor gets matter? Logically it shouldn’t. Emotionally, it does.

We Balk At The Unfair

We have an innate sense of fairness from birth. Give a child a cookie and they’re happy … until they see another kid got two.

Let’s say a stranger and you can share $10. The stranger decides on the split. If you’re not satisfied, both get nothing. If you were offered $1, you’re still ahead but would you let the stranger keep $9 (a 10/90 split)? Maybe you think a 50/50 split is fair but would accept 30/70. If you don’t get enough, maybe you’d cancel the arrangement leaving each with nothing. That’s what happens in the Ultimatum Game.

The Insurance Dilemma

Now suppose you don’t know how much money is available. You might might reject $7 if you think the stranger has more than $10 to share. Perhaps the stranger has $20 or even $100 to split.

With insurance, the products have margins built in. Advisors and buyers don’t know how much. Insurers decide on the split in value between the advisor and you. As the advisor gets more, you get less. Insurers who sell through independent advisors must pay compensation similar to their competitors. Otherwise, advisors are tempted to sell products from other companies (even if inferior).

You can’t tell if you’re getting an optimal deal since you don’t know what’s possible. There are different types of products (e.g., term, whole life or universal life), different companies varying in corporate governance and different ways to structure strategies. You only know what the advisor chooses to show you. You don’t know what factors influenced the selection.

Secrecy

If you paid your insurance advisor directly, you could compare what you’re spending with the value you’re getting. The industry fears you wouldn’t pay as much as advisors want. Their solution is to hide the compensation inside the products.

The lack of transparency has a side effect. You may think your advisor gets paid too much.

You probably don’t know what your peers earn and advisors don’t know what other advisors get paid. Compensation can vary by distribution channel (captive agents vs independent advisors vs national chains). While commissions are standardized within a channel, insurers pay varying bonuses (called “overrides”) to intermediaries called Managing General Agents (MGAs). In turn, these MGAs keep a small portion and pay the rest to the advisors contracted through them. Since top MGAs and top advisors get more, the rest get less. That seems fair — pay for performance.

Perceived Value

Becoming an insurance advisor requires little more than passing a multiple-choice exam. People who invested heavily in their careers — say by going to university, getting a professional designation or achieving financial success — may resent advisors making lots on a sale.

Sales success comes more from prospecting than technical skills.

Advisors who’ve been in business for 10+ years know how to sell. They look and act trustworthy. Appearances aren’t evidence of product knowledge or signs that you’ll get ongoing service. Advisors might keep selling what they’re used to selling rather than mastering better options.

When you have doubts about value and fairness, maybe you need more information?

Links

PS When you fill out an insurance application, your advisor finds out what you're paid and what you're worth.

June 22, 2014

SIX QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE SELECTING AN INSURANCE ADVISOR

If you're looking for an insurance advisor, you’ve got lots of choices. Before picking one, interview several and ask questions, including these six.

1. How Did You Get Into The Insurance Business?

This is an indirect way of asking why they decided to sell insurance. Who grows up aspiring to get into commissioned sales? Are they part of a family business? Couldn’t they find another job?

One advisor may look much like another. When you start with why (see Simon Sinek’s TED Talk), you often find big differences.

2. What Products Are You Licensed To Sell?

Many advisors are reluctant to "leave money on the table". They may sell a range of products like life insurance, health insurance, employee benefits, mutual funds, segregated funds, annuities and mortgages. You'll often see what they provide on their business cards and websites.

Did you buy your last TV at a department store?

One-stop shopping may look appealing but can an advisor really master everything? You could hire specialists instead. A plumber, electrician and painter each have much more practical experience than a handyman.

3. Which Companies Do You Have Contracts With?

A captive advisor is like a commissioned employee and only allowed to sell what that company permits — which may be less competitive and less flexible. The advisor’s business card often has the name of the company, rather than their own brand.

An independent advisor can have a contract with most insurance companies. To get business, the insurers must be competitive. Since products and procedures differ, an advisor cannot realistically know them all well. Advisors often do most of their business with several insurers.

Variants: which companies’ products do you not sell? Why?

4. What Designations Do You Have (And What Do They Mean)?

The world of life insurance is especially complicated because you're dealing with risk, accounting, investing and law. Assessing your needs and developing optimal solutions takes skill. Yet selling insurance requires little more than passing a multiple choice exam.

The better advisors take the time to earn designations that require some effort. Look for a CFP (Certified Financial Planner), or — better still --- a CLU (Chartered Life Underwriter). These designations impose additional standards of conduct on their members. For instance, there are requirements for continuing education.

Ask advisors what their designations mean, how much continuing education is required and why they matter.

5. What Associations Do You Belong To?

There's no self-regulating association to which insurance advisors must belong. There are for accountants, actuaries, doctors, engineers and lawyers. The associations can investigate and discipline members for misconduct. The processes may not be perfect, but they're well intentioned.

Insurance advisors aren't required to belong to any association. In Canada, the main association for advisors is called Advocis. It’s reasonable to expect advisors to belong, though some prefer the Independent Financial Brokers (IFB). Advocis has an sister organization for top advisors called Conference for Advanced Life Underwriting (CALU). There’s also the Million Dollar Roundtable (MDRT).

Associations promote the interests of their members. Yet some advisors won't join. They get the benefits from the lobbying the associations do without spending a penny. What moochers! If they'll take shortcuts like this, be wary.

6. Where Is Your Blog?

Advisors often acknowledge they should have a blog but they don’t have time, they don’t know how, they aren’t convinced of the ROI, …

Advisors can create and publish their original content through a blog (or podcast or video). LinkedIn is an excellent, easy-to-use platform. How often do they publish? How much do they publish? When did they last publish?

There are many advisors but only one you. Why not take the time to find the right advisor for you?

Links

PS For fun, ask “are you a fiduciary with a legal obligation to put my best interests first”?

May 4, 2014

SHOULD YOU BUY INSURANCE FROM AN ADVISOR FROM ANOTHER PROVINCE?

We explored the merits of changing advisors when you move to another city. Let’s look at something more extreme: buying life insurance from an advisor in another province. That’s possible since licencing is province.

Why Would An Advisor Bother?

The advisor might live in a place where the opportunities seem limited. Acres of Diamonds (speech or book) tells us about a traveller seeking riches who finds them after returning home. Why would an advisor who knows the story look for clients far away?

The advisor might be marketing across provincial borders. For instance, an advisor who targets prospects at national conferences meets people from across the country. When a prospect shows interest, it’s difficult to turn away. Getting licenced where the prospect lives is an easy solution.

Mystique

Distance intrigues us. I got invited to a local event with a cross-border speaker — even though experts live locally.

An advisor from afar may have different perspectives and make suggestions that look more innovative. This assumes there aren’t making blunders because they aren’t familiar with valid reasons for differences (e.g., in tax laws).

Moving

You might have moved to another province. If you’re a big client, your insurance advisor might get licenced where you now live to sell additional coverage to you and your new connections.

If your advisor visits, expect them to see other people to spread the costs over more opportunities.

Limited Selection

The more experienced advisors tend to live in larger cities. If you live in a small place, you might not get the optimal advice or service. If you’re forced to look outside, an advisor from another province may seem like a reasonable choice.

The Costs

When dealing with a distant advisor, will you get the same level of service you get locally? It’s tough to know. Technology makes staying in touch easier and you probably don’t have many in person meetings with a local advisor either.

An advisor who does business elsewhere incurs higher costs (airfare, food accommodation). What do they do to compensate?

sell products with higher margins?
sell larger amounts of coverage?
place more implied pressure on you to buy now?

There’s also the personal costs. When you travel on business, are you more productive than at your normal office? What about the advisor’s family? They pay a high price too since they aren’t together as much. The extra revenue helps offset the pain and missed school performances. That revenue comes from you.

April 26, 2014

ADVICE ABOUT ADVISORS FROM THE GAME OF THRONES

(No need to worry about spoilers. Dialog from the Game of Thrones S04E04: Breaker Of Chains.)

Prince: Wisdom is what makes a good king.

Tywin Lannister: Yes. But what is wisdom? Hmm? A house with great wealth and fertile lands asks you for your protection against another house with a strong navy that could one day oppose you. How do you know which choice is wise and which isn't? You've any experience of treasuries and granaries or shipyards and soldiers?

Prince: No.

Tywin Lannister: No. Of course not. A wise king knows what he knows and what he doesn't. You're young. A wise young king listens to his counselors and heeds their advice until he comes of age. And the wisest kings continue to listen to them long afterwards.

Tywin is an advisor advising that the advice of advisors be heeded continually.

There’s merit in Tywin’s advice but how much?

What’s Missing?

The advice is from an advisor who’s interests aren’t the same as the ruler’s. In that case, whose interests come first? Advisor and master spy Varys claims to serve the realm, rather than the ruler at the moment.

Advice may start as good and gradually change to bad over the years without getting noticed. That’s how Tom Hanks got cheated by his insurance advisor over a 13 year period.

In Game of Thrones, many advisors are old. They don’t leave their posts willingly. Are they good at giving advice or good at remaining advisors?

The Truth

Here’s another scene in which Lord Baelish appears to be helping Lady Sansa.

Lord Baelish: What did I once tell you about the capital?

Lady Sansa: We're all liars here.

Lord Baelish: Come, my lady. I know you've had a difficult day. But you're safe now. I promise you that.

Lord Baelish has an important role as an advisor to the king. Yet he includes himself among the liars. How then do you tell when you’re being told the truth? Lady Sansa doesn’t ask. Perhaps that’s a sign of wisdom.

Better Advice About Advisors

Better advice about advisors comes from others who have used advisors. A prince can ask his parents and royalty in other realms — without blindly accepting their answers. Questions include:

How valuable are advisors?
How many advisors are ideal?
When do you stop taking advice and take leadership?
How do you select the right advisors?
When do you change advisors?

Your Financial Castle

You’re the king or queen of your castle. Do you have the right advisors to guide you along your Financial TRAIL?

Links

PS The best advice? Be like Varys: watch what advisors do to figure out what they want.

April 20, 2014

CASE STUDY: THE ADVISOR WHO’S DISAPPEARING ONLINE

Advisors have an opportunity to build trust by creating content. If consistent. If allowed. Some advisors are forced to erase their digital tapestries (or at least portions).

Here’s an email from an advisor we’ll call Heidi Hiding (not the real name).

"Could you please have my comment removed ASAP from the blog posting below , I is a compliance issue."

"Could you please have my comment removed ASAP from the blog posting below , I[t] is a compliance issue."

Contacting sites is step six in how to disappear online.

Why The Concern?

The blog post asks does your advisor have these three elements of trust: chemistry, credentials and generosity. Heidi’s now deleted comment from 2010 said:

I'd like to think I have all of these qualities. I am a CFP, write a blog, volunteer on an alumni committee, routinely give free advice to those needing budgeting help or general financial advice at no charge. I read a number of blogs and financial sites where I put in my two cents as well. More info on my website.

Do you see a major cause for concern?

More Deletions

Where else has Heidi disappeared? That’s easy to figure out. Google makes copies of web pages (e.g., about Rogers Unlimited Internet) and the Wayback Machine does too.

I found traces of Heidi on sites like these:

Will the fee-only financial planner model ever catch on? at Canadian Finance Blog
Financial planner or salesman? at Retire Happy
Financial advice or financial quackery? on Million Dollar Journey
Claymore 1-10 year laddered government & corporate bond ETFs on Canadian Capitalist
When to use a financial advisor at Oblivious Investor
Create a retirement income plan at Boomer & Echo
Zoominfo
FoundLocally
a listing of advisors on a company website
Cold calls boot camp at Financial Blogger
Name of cute babies (really!)

At the moment, Heidi remains visible at

Know Your Financial Advisor with the $599/year Trusted Membership
Wikidomo
Personal website
MoneySense directory of fee-only planners: Heidi says “I get the majority of calls from people who read Moneysense Magazine and have found me through their website. Some call come from my website, which focuses on fee-only and fee-based financial planning. I only get one or two calls a month. Doing the math, you can see the challenge of making a living as an independent fee-only financial planner.”

The Business model

Heidi’s revenue comes from

fee-only financial planning
selling products with embedded commissions

investments: mutual funds, segregated funds
protection: life insurance and health insurance

Other Comments

Here are comments from Heidi on different sites.

“… wtf is that supposed to mean? Is an FA [Financial Advisor] supposed to have a crystal ball and know exactly what to buy, when to buy it, when to sell it so that he can make so much money he doesn’t need clients? The majority of people DO need a Financial Planner, not a mutual fund/seg fund/stock salesperson.”

“I work through an MFDA licensed firm and for the last 2 years have been offering Fee Only Financial Planning. The biggest problem has been compliance issues from the MFDA. While the firm I work through supports my offering Fee Only planning the compliance hassles have led to comments from the management that the firm makes barely enough from my Fee Based business to "buy a coffee". I think this attitude will continue until the hidden commission model is abolished but I'm doing what I can in the meantime.”

“Investment allocation is only a small part of what a true financial planner should be offering their clients. I offer fee based and fee only services and some clients want investment advice but implement it themselves. Others opt for a fee for assets under management.”

“,,, since I began on concentratiing on being a Fee Based Financial Planner instead of a mutual fund order taker, I have attracted a more financially astute clientelle and have been able to put my CFP to good use doing estste planning, risk mangement, long and short term savings planning, budgetting, mortgage planning, oh and a little bit of investment planning as well.”

“The biggest challenge is finding clients. I think more people are getting educated about the need to use a fee-only planner but the question is how do you help them find you? Websites and other social media are the obvious way but I have personally had limited success. I do know you will need to have patience, perhaps you can generate income in other ways while you build the fee-based part of the business. I do this by doing tax returns, insurance sales and brokering the odd mortgage.”

The Last Word

Removing comments creates results like this where Heidi loses the last word:

Heidi: [comment removed by request of author]

Commenter: Commission based = commissions
Fee Based = fees + commission.
Fee Only = fees

Also, to suggest that this eliminates conflicts of interest suggests a lack of understanding of that topic. You get paid to manage a client’s investments. What if they want to sell those investments to buy a house or start a business? Your pay goes down, and clients have to weigh that conflict when weighing your counsel.
I’m not suggesting it’s not possible to give appropriate advice while conflicted, but as an industry we need to stop acting like conflicts don’t exist. All models have them.

Heidi: [comment removed by request of author]

What Happened?

After removing Heidi’s comment, I sent her email:

Me: Your comment is from 2010 and looked harmless. What was the compliance problem? Was the problem with your firm, MFDA [Mutual Fund Dealers Association] or IIROC [Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada]?

Heidi: MFDA, I changed firms recently and when they did a search of my name on the web they found a number of blog comments. Since I signed on as Heidi Hiding CFP and provided a link to my website they considered this advertising. So my options were to have them all removed or to have compliance sign off on them. MFDA requires that Compliance signs off on all posts of this kind before posted? In future, I can comment as Heidi Hiding with no link to website and/or mention of my profession or anonymously etc.

What do you think of rules like that?

Links

PS Disqus amalgamates comments on compatible blogs for those allowed stay visible (e.g., like this)

March 15, 2014

CAN YOU TRUST YOUR DOCTOR’S PRESCRIPTION?

When I was a child, I trusted my doctor. He made home visits, which is what you want when you’re sick.. He even gave me used syringes with the needles attached so I could refill the cartridges for my fountain pen from a big bottle of ink. I felt that he had my best interests at heart. Is the same true today?

Good People. Bad Results.

“… small branded promotional items should increase favorable attitudes for the brand being promoted … but many physicians, because they are medical experts, believe they are not susceptible to these influences. In one survey, just 8% of physicians believed they were susceptible to influence by marketing items such as branded pens, whereas 31% of patients felt these items could influence physicians.” — The Journal of the American Medical Association (May 2009)

Doctors may not think they’re influenced by vendors but they’re people too. Studies show that “even small drug company payments as low as $10 influence doctors’ prescribing patterns” (Australian Doctor).

Independence

The New England Journal of Medicine found that 94% of doctors have a relationship with a drug company. They receive

free meals at work (83%)
free drug samples (78%)
reimbursement for professional meetings or continuing medical education (35%)
payment for consulting, lecturing or enrolling patients in trials (28%)

The diagnosis and prescriptions may not be best for you. The problem lies in conflicts of interest.

Schooling

Are medical schools are addressing the problems caused by conflicts of interest among their faculty? A study of policies found that over 70% of Canadian medical schools failed. The highest score was 79% at Western University.

The big issues were

interactions with sales representatives (70%)
conflicts of interest or drug promotion in the curriculum (70%)

Having policies doesn’t mean they are effective or enforced. For instance, American medical schools tend to have strict policies but tend to ignore ghostwriting (that’s “when researchers take studies or parts of studies that were written by pharma and pass them off as their own independent work without disclosing the industry ties”). How objective do you think the articles will be? Perhaps court challenges will help since “medical journals, academic institutions and professional disciplinary bodies haven't succeeded in enforcing sanctions”.

Protecting Yourself

Spotting conflicts of interest is much tougher if you don’t know about them. An Australian study found that 76% of patients didn’t know about relationships their doctor might have with a drug company. They wanted transparency, which includes knowing about

any benefits in cash or kind from drug companies (71%)
financial incentives for participating in research (69%)
sponsorship to attend conferences (61%)

Patients felt that disclosure would help them make better decisions about their treatment (78%).

If you remember that people are people, you’re better able to protect yourself whether you’re dealing with a doctor or any other advisor.

March 8, 2014

THE CBC’S HIDDEN CAMERA INVESTIGATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORS

Can you trust your investment advisor? That’s a very important question for your financial success. CBC Marketplace investigated advisors at 10 major firms and found some ‘atrocious’. Watch this short video using hidden cameras for examples. For the full version, watch Show Me The Money.

The examples may be extreme and unrepresentative but they did happen. Buyer beware. Buyer prepare.

Clarity And Competence?

Dollars are easier to understand than percentages, but …

“The financial industry doesn’t have to tell you how much investing can cost you in dollars and cents.” — Erica Johnson, Show Me The Money

Where there’s complexity, you benefit from advisors who simplify without distortion. Let’s look at an example: mutual funds.

Fees on mutual funds are charged on the total amount you have invested (your capital and the growth/loss on that capital). The math gets complicated because you’re shown an annual charge (e.g., 2%) but that’s converted to a daily equivalent and deducted daily. You’d expect an advisor to know the mechanics well.

“If can’t explain the fees on a mutual fund, which is such a popular investment in Canada — almost a trillion dollars is invested in them — you should not call yourself a financial advisor.” — Preet Banerjee

The hidden camera showed examples of poor explanations. For instance

“That fee is … umm … it’s on the percentage of returns of the fund. So … it’s … like … sorry just want to make sure I’m thinking about this properly. Like it’s not on … just seeing if I can find, like, an easy definition.” — bank advisor

The lesson? You can’t assume advisors have solid financial education. Yet they are employed. What does that tell you about the accreditation process and the standards of their employers? An advisor who doesn’t know can ask for help … or do a Google search.

What’s Worse?

Life and health products are much more complex than investments because you’re now dealing with the actuarial elements of risk (e.g., mortality or morbidity) and have the additional worry of how to get your claim paid. That makes them harder to understand, explain and compare. Getting suitable help is even more important and difficult.

Some advisors sell both insurance and investments, but how well?

The Big Surprise

The big surprise is if you’re surprised by the CBC’s findings. There’s enough information online to raise concerns about advisors. Ask around. You’re bound to hear horror stories if you ask others what they think they bought and what they think they pay.

You may not have a hidden camera but can take notes or record the audio with your smartphone (seems legal). Protect yourself. Protect your money.

Links

PS "Financial advisor" is among the five job titles in most demand by employers, according to Workopolis.

January 4, 2014

THE 2013 POSTS FROM RISCARIO INSIDER

Here are all 51 posts from Riscario Insider from 2013. You can select them by image or by category.

By Images

The title of the post shows when you hover your cursor over the image. Click to read the post.

THE BEST AND WORST TIMES TO CANCEL YOUR LIFE INSURANCE

IS YOUR LIFE INSURANCE LIKE A SHOVEL, SNOWBLOWER OR SNOWPLOW?

IF YOU HAVE/HAD/WANT MONEY, READ ‘POUND FOOLISH’

FIGHT BACK AGAINST CORPORATE TRICKERY WITH ELLEN ROSEMAN’S INSIDER TIPS

BLACKBERRY’S CONFUSING MESSAGE AT THE 2013 TECH LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

BUDGET 2013 PUNISHES THE INNOVATION OF “10-8” INSURED LEVERAGING

THE BATTLE BETWEEN TEMPTATION AND PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

DO YOU HAVE A FINANCIAL DREAM OR A FINANCIAL NIGHTMARE?

THE UNWELCOME LESSON FROM THE RBC-iGATE SAGA

LIFE CHANGING EVENTS NO LONGER TRIGGER INSURANCE PURCHASES

TIPS FOR FIRST-TIME LIFE INSURANCE BUYERS

(MAILBAG) SWITCHING INVESTMENT ADVISORS: BAD TO WORSE?

SHOULD YOU CHANGE ADVISORS WHEN YOU MOVE?

HOW TOM HANKS GOT CHEATED BY HIS INSURANCE ADVISOR

CHOCOLATE, PRICE-FIXING AND SALMONELLA POISONING

ULTIMATE UNLIMITED INTERNET? HOW ROGERS FOOLED US THREE TIMES

HOW WOULD MIKE HOLMES FIX THE FINANCIAL SECTOR?

WHY ARE WE FLOODED WITH BAD WEATHER FORECASTS?

HOW HONEST ED TURNED $212 INTO $100 MILLION

CTRL ALT DELETE: MITCH JOEL’S EIGHT STEPS TO GETTING A JOB TODAY

A REVIEW OF ROGERS UNLIMITED INTERNET (AND HOW TO USE IT)

HANDCUFFED: COMPARING MOBILE PHONES AND LIFE INSURANCE

HOW TO GET YOUR ROGERS INTERNET WORKING OVER WIFI

AT AGE 7, BOOMER ESIASON LEARNED NO ONE IS GUARANTEED A TOMORROW

CASE STUDY: SELLER BEWARE vs BUYER BEWARE

#KRYPTONTUESDAY: JOIN A GENUINE INNOVATION IN FREE LIFELONG EDUCATION

MONEY 50/50: THE PERFECT LIVE EVENT TO MASTER YOUR MONEY

NETFLIX FOR LEARNING: UNLIMITED ACCESS TO eMAGAZINES, eBOOKS, AUDIOBOOKS

HOW TO TELL IF YOUR ADVISOR IS INDEPENDENT

HOW TO SCREEN YOUR SOURCES FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION

WILL YOU HAVE FINANCIAL FREEDOM AT 35, 55 OR 75?

THE WEALTHY BARBER RETURNS WITH MORE WISDOM

By Category

You’ll find all the 2013 posts arranged by category and then in chronological order.

Advisors

Behavior

Careers

Insurance

Financial Planning

Health

Money

Tech

Trust

Miscellaneous

That’s 2013. The Riscario Radio podcasts stopped after 250 episodes. Look for more video instead — though not weekly!

PS Thanks for reading for another year.