Going Undercover: The Truth About “Free” Financial Seminars

“Act as if every broker, insurance salesman, mutual fund salesperson, and financial advisor you encounter is a hardened criminal,” he admonishes, “and stick to low-cost index funds, and you’ll do just fine.”

That advice is from 2014, but it remains as true today as it ever has been, and so too it will remain. And yet free seminars abound, sucking in the unaware, sometimes plying them with complimentary food and drink, throwing a bunch of confusing facts and figures at them and then sinking their teeth into their hard-earned money to the tune of a percent or two per year.

As our guest poster from Dividend Strategy discovered, these seminars are not free. They are perhaps the most costly investment one can make.

I’m not one to pick a fight, but when good people are being taken advantage of, I’m also not one to sit around and let it happen.  I had an experience recently that was a wake-up call for the importance of financial literacy.

First impressions were slick and convincing, but scratch the surface with a bit of well-informed skepticism and it all started to stink.

We recently discussed all the ways mutual funds are a bad deal for investors. This time we’re addressing “free” financial seminars.  Even if this doesn’t apply to you, you might find the story interesting and possibly relevant for someone you know. Feel free to share.

When a professional-looking email or ad offers a FREE seminar to discuss the very financial topics that you’re concerned about, it’s totally understandable that a lot of people would want to sign up.

Arrow

In this case, the email was titled, “Roadmap to Retirement”. We would learn how to achieve our retirement goals faster, how to live our dreams without running out of money, and how to use our various investment accounts effectively – sounds great, right?

SWIPE UP NOW TO READ MORE

MORE STORIES

Financial and Retirement Planning for Physicians

The 15 Worst Ever Pieces of Financial Advice