Certify Able
A year ago, I wrote a column titled “Alphabet Soup” about the challenges associated with getting—and keeping—professional designations that are meaningful to plan sponsors (see “ Alphabet Soup,” PLANADVISER, Fall 2006 ). However, it’s not as though all certifications or designations are hard to come by—and, unfortunately, there are people out there who are willing to take advantage of people. Concerns about unscrupulous financial advisers using faux designations to mislead individual investors have resulted in a number of state initiatives to crack down on how these designations are used. And while stories of unscrupulous advisers are not as hard to come by as one might hope, the designation issue has already garnered coverage in the New York Times. The focus of that story was a “Certified Senior Adviser” in the state of Massachusetts who had allegedly taken advantage of clients, notably senior citizens, in promoting inappropriate insurance investments—and who subsequently was sued ...