June 21, 2012
--- Investor Watchdog offers an array of free, online
tools to help investors choose and monitor advisers, and replace those they feel
are underperforming. ---
There is a tool set for investors
to use to research any adviser at any U.S. financial services firm and a tool
set for terminating advisers so investors minimize their risk exposure and
expense. According to Jack Waymire, the tools’ developer, the Watchdog’s Advisor
Scorecard tool is popular with investors. “It arrays the professionals’
credentials, ethics and business practices side by side so it is easy to
identify their relative strengths and weaknesses. Scorecard also produces an
adviser rating that is generated by inputs from investors. This tool makes it
easy to select the professional with the best qualifications.”
Once an adviser is selected,
investors have access to a Watchdog tool that monitors 12 categories of adviser
data on a quarterly basis: performance, investment expense, risk exposure,
compliance record, client attrition, regulatory actions and lawsuits. This
early detection service helps investors avoid surprises and make timely
decisions that reduce risk.
“Institutional investors, such as
pension plans, make adviser-related decisions based on third-party due
diligence and documentation,” Waymire said. “Individual investors make these
same decisions based on undocumented sales claims. Watchdog levels the playing
field by providing institutional services that have been modified for use by
individual investors.”
More information is here.
Rebecca Moore