Last week’s video blog by Garry and Lyle emphasized The Value of Advice. During that blog conversation, Garry shared an example of seeking advice from a trusted friend, who genuinely cared about him and had only his best interest in mind. The result of that conversation gave Garry affirmation and confidence to proceed with his financial decision.
In today’s blog, I would like to emphasize another essential element to consider when receiving advice. Does the person I am seeking advice from have a bias, lack of objectivity, or conflict of interest related to the specific advice? Because we are in the business of giving financial advice, we have had to wrestle with the underlying reality of the question stated above. Unfortunately, the “black eye” of our industry has been caused by individuals who are making a commission, fees, or receiving an incentive as a result of giving “less than objective” advice. This conflict exists for insurance agents, stockbrokers, and most financial advisors.
Over 20 years ago, the partners of Master’s decided to tackle this issue head-on. We permanently changed our compensation structure for every person who was, and would be, employed to represent Master’s Advisors. Since that time, each one of us, regardless of title or position, agrees to work for a set salary. No advisor, or any other employee of Master’s, receives individual compensation for advice given or planning solutions recommended. Simply put, we have built a protective firewall between the advice you receive, and our individual compensation. We certainly are not perfect, and there will be times when a recommendation may not work out as we hoped. Rest assured, a disappointing result will never be the result of conflicts related to our compensation.
Our unique compensation structure was unheard of in the year 2000, when we designed and implemented it. In fact, it is still a rarity in our industry today! It has simply become part of our Master’s DNA, who we are, and is our long-term commitment to the highest integrity in our business of giving advice. We place an extremely high importance on our relationships with you and endeavor to protect your trust at all costs!
Do you have specific examples of a time you received great, objective advice that was extremely helpful? In contrast, you may be recalling a time where you found out that the advice you had received was tainted and simply not in your best interest. Feel free to share either one. We would love to hear from you!
