Sense on Cents

A resounding theme on Wall Street currently is the decline in overall volumes. This reality is not only happening in the equity markets but in virtually every corner of the financial services industry. What happens as a result? Pressure from management increases to ‘make the numbers.’ That pressure is transferred to clients in a subtle or often not so subtle fashion. In addition to the pressure to transact, investors need to be increasingly on guard against practices which will generate greater margins and revenue for brokers and financial planners but leave you with nothing more than larger fees and expenses.

Once again, ‘caveat emptor’ is the order of the day. What are some of the practices investors need to be particularly attuned to at this time? Our friendly Investing Primer, Investopedia provides a nice summation of 4 Dishonest Broker Tactics and How to Avoid Them,

Here we look at the most unscrupulous practices brokers have used to boost their commissions and push poor-quality investments onto unsuspecting investors. (more…)