Should financial advisers be caretakers?
Financial advisers' role has been changing. But selling elder care? C'mon!
Providence Mount St. Vincent, a care facility in West Seattle, is recognized for its innovative programs for residents. In this 1999 file photo, Doris Johnson of the Seattle Public Library helps Anne Lass with conversational Spanish tapes she ordered.
Robert Harbison / The Christian Science Monitor / File
You'll have to excuse my cynicism.
For a relatively young guy I've been around the block a few times and have had thousands of client relationships over the years. I came into this game back when we were trading stocks in eighths and sixteenths, before the internet and the ubiquity of cellphones and at a time when the financial guy's job was to make money for his accounts and keep them updated.
I watched as stockbrokers became financial advisors and then started selling people insurance policies and checking accounts. But I never thought I'd see the day when they'd begin upselling their clientele into elder care services and holistic mental health plans.
My piece on the topic at the Wall Street Journal is generating a ton of commentary and feeback today, most of it in agreement with me that there is a certain line that we shouldn't be crossing. I don't view the role of a financial firm as having anything to do with referring nurses or organizing people's personal lives. Click over below and tell me what you think:
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