My parents are going through a major life event and need a financial planner. Mom has a close friend who is a ChFC for Edward Jones. In my opinion, it would be best to get someone they don't know who can give an objective opinion without worrying about jeopardizing their relationship. There are some dumb things that my parents are doing that need to be confronted and corrected. I would assume that this ChFC would say "I can advise you as a friend but you should get someone objective" however, instead she is taking them on, setting up an adversarial relationship tone about me, almost feels like she's trying to drive a wedge between me and my parents because she is threatened by me and she wants them to listen to her instead of me. I am already doubting some of her recommendations, e.g. she encouraged them to put money in a savings account that she makes a commission on instead of one that is a full percent better interest rate because it's "not safe" (even though it's FDIC insured).
There might be a really good reason that she suggested the 1.5 APY account over the 2.5APY account. Unfortunately, because of her relationship to my mom, my dad felt unable to pursue the issue until he had an answer that he understood. My fear is that this sort of thing will continue as my dad has to prioritize the relationship between my mom and their advisor over their own financial future.
I don't think she's malicious but I do want to know if this dual relationship is ethical and professional.
Would also love advice for how to convince her that I'm not her adversary just because I recommended an objective third-party financial planner.
Submitted December 05, 2018 at 06:09PM by if_yes_else_no https://ift.tt/2E3be2q
