Use these two links in California to do your homework:
http://brokercheck.finra.org/ – FINRA financial advisor lookup provides background complaint history of people with security licenses. FINRA is a regulatory body. You can see their website at http://www.finra.org
http://www.insurance.ca.gov/license-status/ – those with insurance licenses can be found here. A little more poking around is required here. I look at how long have they been licensed, how many companies are they current with and the continuing education courses they have taken. Also, there is a link about disclosure events. I have found this to not be 100% accurate.
What would you say if you found out your financial advisor had valid complaints? This means a client felt they had been wronged, filed a complaint, and the complaint was investigate and found to be valid. Maybe they settled out of court.
Your advisor met you at a lunch meeting, a dinner meeting or maybe they have a radio show. They are nice enough. They are polite. Maybe they have been in the industry for a long time. Doesn’t mean anything – you must look them up.
Look them up. Are they fully licensed? Do they have just an insurance license? Do they have stock brokers license? How do they stack up to other advisors?
I strongly encourage people to perform their due diligence. Please perform a financial advisor lookup.
It is my opinion that if an advisor only has one license they are not in a position to fully take care of a client. They either sell just insurance products or they only sell investments.
If you would like assistance in generating these reports – call our office. Ask to speak with Rick and mention you would like assistance looking up an advisor. Our office phone number is 408-459-8383. NOTE: You have to draw your own conclusions as we don’t give legal advice nor an opinion about the adivisor you are looking up.