www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, March 6, 2014 | 16 I Bad investment advice is still all too common in today's nancial world nvestment advisers who were secretly videotaped got a failing grade. Their advice was often wrong or misleading and there appeared to be a con ict of interest. The TV show Marketplace aired a program last week about the quality and accuracy of recommendations given by various nancial advisers. A woman posing as an investor with a $50,000 inheritance visited several ofces of well-known investment rms. The topics discussed were all very important, so you would hope every adviser was able to give the correct and appropriate response. The rst issue was about debt. Advisers either did not ask the undercover investor if she had debt or when they knew she did, they did not suggest she use the inherited funds to reduce that debt. One even recommended carrying debt. The inference made by the program was advisers are paid when you invest and not when you use potential investment money to pay down personal debt. Risk was not fairly explained by most, although one adviser did an excellent job of explaining how much one investment dropped in value during the stock market decline of 2008. Another topic highlighted the worst information given to the undercover investor -- expected returns from an investment. The advisers made predictions of signi cant capital gains. One suggested a $50,000 investment would pro t by $5,000 in a month or two and predicted a $20,000 gain in one year -- that's a 40 per cent return. That's ridiculous. The on-air nancial expert was not sure whether that adviser was incompetent or just lying. Fees were the focus in the segment where the undercover investor speci cally asked what the fees would be on a mutual fund. One adviser said two per cent, but it was only charged on the growth of the investment. That's false. Fees are charged on the entire invested amount. The same adviser referred to this as a `free ride' for the investor. At the end of the program, a warning was given to consumers and a comment on why random, undercover meetings were not performed by the regulators who are responsible for monitoring investment advisers. Apparently that type of audit is planned, although Marketplace was not given any details. The nal word of warning was "buyer beware." Sounds like good ad- Dollars & Sense Guest Contributor Peter Watson vice. Shop for nancial advice by asking several speci c questions. If you are not satis ed with any aspect of your interview with an adviser, end the meeting and continue looking. -- Submitted by Peter Watson, MBA, CFP , R.F .P ., CIM, FCSI., Certified Financial Planner additionelle.com GRAND OPENING EVENT MARCH TO , ADDITION ELLE INVITES YOU TO CELEBRATE THE GRAND OPENING OF OUR NEW CONCEPT STORE AT SMART CENTRES OAKVILLE! JOIN US AND RECEIVE OFF YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE . * ON SATURDAY MARCH 8 THE FIRST 75 CUSTOMERS IN LINE WILL RECEIVE A GIFT CARD ! ** OAK WALK DRIVE OAKVILLE, ONTARIO LH H T *All purchases calculated pre-tax. Valid at Addition Elle Smart Centres Oakville only from March 8 to 26, 2014. No cash value. Applicable on in-store purchases of regular-priced merchandise only. Cannot be combined with any other offer. May not be applied to the purchase of gift cards or to previously purchased merchandise. ** While quantities last. Only valid at Addition Elle Smart Centres Oakville on March 8, 2014. One gift card per customer.