Physicians: How to find a financial advisor

We all can use advice from time to time. Sometimes that advice is about personal finances, Investing, or borrowing. When choosing this person, stay away from financial advisors who have a conflict of interest. The advisor who makes money on your investment decisions is like the pharmaceutical rep who is telling you all about his new medication and why it is better than what you already use. The advice might be fine, but due to the obvious bias/conflict of interest, you never know when information is tipped in their favor. When you read a study about a new wonder drug and notice the manufacturer financed it, you tend to take the information with a grain of salt. Use the same skepticism with your financial advisors. Follow the money. Many a doctor has dropped his financial advisor after discovering the advisor was making more money off the portfolio than the doctor was. Let’s take a look at who is offering this advice, and let’s consider what happens if you were seeking advice about paying off your home mortgage early. The banker. If the bank holds your mortgage, they will continue to make a profit as long as you keep the mortgage and continue to pay interest. If the bank sells their mortgages, they make money by writing new loans (points, loan origination fee, and setup fees), so they would profit if you refinance and harvest some equity. If a competing bank holds the mortgage, then any money sent to the other bank to pay off that mortgage will not be available for you to...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Finance Practice Management Source Type: blogs