Brokers sold stocks. Real estate agents sold homes. Banks accepted deposits and issued loans. But the rise in the early 1980s of the financial planning industry, coupled with deregulation, blurred the financial services picture. Today, an increasing number of bankers, brokers, insurers, real estate agents and tax planners operate under the common title of financial planner.
Investment advisers are no longer confidants of the well-heeled only.
Financial planning is promoted as a basic service of use to tens of millions of middle-income Americans. However, when these planners advise clients on buying and selling securities, they must meet certain competency requirements and register with the state where they operate. Some individuals calling themselves financial planners devote more time to selling products than to financial planning. Some don't disclose relevant events from their pasts, such as bankruptcies, run-ins with securities regulators or felony convictions. And still others operate thinly disguised Ponzi schemes.