View all Stories
Categories
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Deceived for Commission

Read full story

When I was new and wanted to buy mutual funds, they sold me ULIP in the name of Mutual Funds, which they were not dealing even, but for getting some commision, they found me a good prey.

Read more
ISSUES
Conflicts of Interest
Incorrect Advice
View all

Pushed to the Edge: How Three Financial Advisors Tried to Sell Me High-Risk Investments I Didn't Need

Read full story

Had three different independent FAs try to sell me into high risk VCTs (despite being wholly inappropriate for my goals / financial position) - all I wanted was some one-off financial modelling that I couldn't figure out in a spreadsheet. I literally gave up trying to find an FA at that point.

Read more
ISSUES
Conflicts of Interest
Incorrect Advice
View all

Leave the clowns at the circus

Read full story

Put it this way, have you ever been to a circus? You have! Well, remember those people who made you laugh? Finance advisers can also do this. But they can also make you cry. Here’s a funny story—true as well.

We had a clown, visited us as they do for many years, charging us fees, etc. Also, fees that were not revealed to us, which we discovered later. Well, after 13 years of having him sponge off us, we realized he had F.C.ED us, big style. He said the investments were not taxable as they were a specific type of investment.

Well, we realized these were taxable when we questioned him, asking, "Why did you set these investments if they are taxable?" He ran away and left us with a tax bill of 13 years, plus interest.

People will say, "Why did you not make your own enquiries into what is taxable and what is not?" Well, the answer to that is because we were paying a professional.

Well, it cost us dearly, so make sure it doesn’t happen to you. Leave the clowns in the circus!

Read more
ISSUES
Incorrect Advice
Poor Communication
View all

The “I Can Use Anything, I Just Happen to Use My Own Company’s Mutual Fund” Advisor

Read full story

I had just met with some folks who had recently moved in-state from the East Coast. They were referred to me because they were unhappy with the advisor that they’d been with. The advisor had worked for one of those big insurance companies that also have their own proprietary mutual funds.

The advisor had always made the claim to them that he could use any type of investment that he wanted. What I found funny about that statement was when you actually looked at their account holdings, over 80% of all their investments were with that company’s mutual funds; their own proprietary product.

What was even more a bunch of crap, was the actual funds themselves were horrible.

Their track records were bad, their fees were high, and their performance resembled that of a 16-year-old trying to make it in the NFL; it just wasn’t cutting it. Lesson learned: If you’re using an advisor who works for a big company, be on the lookout if they always recommend their own company’s funds.

Read more
ISSUES
Conflicts of Interest
Incorrect Advice
View all

Share Your Story

Have you had a negative experience with a human financial advisor or other human “financial expert”? Share your story to help others avoid similar issues. Together, we can shed light on the importance of reliable, unbiased financial advice - its been a big motivator for us to build PortfolioPilot.

Shield icon representing anonymity protection
Don't worry, stories are anonymous!
Thank you for adding your story - we'll review for compliance reasons and post it in the next few days!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

The Impact of Bad Financial Advice

Getting poor financial advice can have serious consequences, from financial loss to emotional distress. More and more investors are choosing to take matters into their own hands – and we're here to help.

Signpost highlighting poor communication, high fees, and incorrect advice as financial advisor issues