When advice is one-sided
Question: Karen, my otherwise good financial adviser, often e-mails me articles on Obama's handling of the economy. These pieces are politically one-sided, and it's not my side. Should I complain?
Answer: Very irritating, these folks with an ax to grind who relentlessly forward "interesting" e-mails to everyone they know.
Of course you can ask Karen to stop with the clipping service. But there's another issue here. We presume that her financial advice is informed by her assessment of the government's economic policies. That doesn't necessarily mean she's steering you to investments that are wrong for you. But you might ask Karen how her philosophy shapes her recommendations. After you hear what she has to say, you need to make a decision. You can skip the e-mail, but you can't duck the question: Do you want your investments managed by someone whose take on the economy is the opposite of yours?
Questions? Email Money Magazine’s ethicists – authors of “Isn’t It Their Turn to Pick Up the Check?” (Free Press) – at FlemingandSchwarz@right-thing.net.
I get these things all the time from friends, relatives, and casual acquaintances. Probably 99% of the time the email is conservatively biased. I am very liberal, but that's not the issue. These emails are consistently terrible. Almost all of these emails are full of obvious half truths and/or outright lies. The rest of the time they usually fall into the category of vaguely racist jokes or troubling religious propaganda. So I find myself wondering what sort of moron forwards this crap around. It worries me to think there are this many idiots in my life.
If I were getting these from a financial adviser, you can bet I'd fire the person. Especially if the emails fell into the categories I mentioned above. Do you really want someone who believes everything that comes through their inbox handling your money?
Just by reading these comments you can plainly see that there is no one size fits all solution. So do what you feel is right for you and forget all these stories about the good and bad. It's your life and thank God you live in America where you can make your own choices.
Are there no real problems left? Were you asked to join a militia group?
Are you afraid of your own shadow?
I don't know whether to chastise you for not standing up for yourself, or to wonder how you select financial advisors.
If the advice is good, delete the emails. If not, why are you still there?
Money Magazine's ethicists, Jeanne Fleming, Ph.D., and Leonard Schwarz, are the authors of "Isn't It Their Turn to Pick Up the Check?" (Free Press, 2008).
I have to wonder what, exactly, is bothering the correspondent.
If it's irritating emails that contrast with her point of view, there is a novel device – avaiable to all – called "delete."
If the real issue is differing views between the advisor and correspondent – I would take that as a positive. If my advisor agreed with me on everything, I would have no need of her.
I suspect, however, that is it the Obamaneque focus that is disturbing. Trust me, it disturbs the rest of us, too, and pro-Obama views in a financial advisor (or any thinking adult) are in fact grounds to seriously question that advisor's credibility.
The thinking public, alas, is used to being confronted with fantastical views promulgated by liberal demagogues (many supported by the very CNN we are surfing now), but that "comfort through overexposure," by no means should equate to comfort with the intellect or veracity of the fools espousing views that are generally false-to-fact, and even false-to-possibility.
Can the advisor, and get someone who doesn't live in Fantasia.