Kerry Morris discusses the importance of fiduciary standards in financial advisory.
Listen to the interview on the Business Innovators Radio Network: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-kerry-morris-cfp-founder-of-honorshield-discussing-fiduciary-standards/
The episode delves into the concept of fiduciary standards and its implications for financial advisors. Fiduciary standards require advisors to prioritize their client’s best interests above their own in all aspects. This includes disclosing any conflicts of interest and acting in the client’s best interest. This standard has been in place for approximately 80 years.
The episode also touches upon other standards, such as the suitability standard, which has been around for years but is not as frequently discussed as the fiduciary standard. Unlike the fiduciary standard, the suitability standard does not necessitate prioritizing the client’s best interest to the same extent.
In addition to the fiduciary standard, Kerry emphasizes the significance of empathy, care, and intent. He suggests that while the fiduciary standard should serve as a foundation, having an advisor who genuinely cares for the client’s well-being goes beyond meeting the standard.
Fiduciary standards are a crucial aspect of financial advising, while also acknowledging the role of other standards and the importance of the advisor’s mindset and approach in providing optimal service to the client are just as important.
Trust, transparency, and communication in the advisor-client relationship are highlighted as essential in the conversation. Kerry Morris discusses how clients often encounter unfamiliar jargon and emphasizes that it is the advisor’s responsibility to help them understand the pros and cons of different investment or insurance choices. This collaborative process relies on trust and transparency between the advisor and client.
Kerry shared: “The best way to put that into a one-liner is that the client is being placed really above the advisor’s interest in every way. You usually hear that talked about in the client’s best interest. But it also involves conflict-of-interest disclosures, all a lot more. But let’s just picture the client being placed above the advisor in every way, number one. Number two, the suitability standard is what you don’t hear talked about much. And that’s been around for years… And that really kind of comes out of the stockbroker world.”
About Kerry Morris
Kerry Morris, Author of When Retirement Goes Bad, Life Sucks and Financial Survival for Families in the Grip of Dementia, Certified Financial Educator®, and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional.
Kerry Morris has been serving families for the past twenty-six years as a financial planner and advisor. He has recently launched HonorShield, LLC., as a way to challenge the current thinking and behavior of consumers and financial advisors preparing for the potential high cost of aging.
He has spent several of his twenty-six-year career advising hundreds of families experiencing the nightmare of paying for care. The question, always, was “how to make the money last”?
Morris has watched too many families, too many men and women not be fully prepared for retirement. The financial industry has put this cost-of-care issue on total “ignore” mode, often shoving it onto a small but valiant band of “insurance specialists” around the country. Only about 10 in 100 Americans embrace this model. That is a problem for American families and our country.
Morris found a better way, a win-win solution that more Americans could feel good about embracing. It’s a whole new way to approach and solve this problem: the LCAP—the Longevity Care Allocation Plan. Every person, every family deserves to know how an LCAP works. Kerry Morris has made it his life’s goal to ensure that those he helps can hold their head high and know that no matter what curve balls retirement throws at them, they will be prepared.
“One of the most important things I’ve learned in my 26 years in the business is that a great life is supported by three areas, Health, Relationships, and Money. My job is to make sure that a family’s money is working effectively to accomplish that job.”
Learn More:
http://www.honorshield.com/