Titles are funny things.  As humans, we seem to want to name everything, our pets, our cars, our body parts, our positions in the workforce, we’ll give anything a title. Sometimes, titles are words that give specific description of the function of the job. Titles like “Road Crew Supervisor” tell us he supervises a road crew. Great.  We get that, it makes sense.

Some titles actually sound more impressive than they are, like; “Account Manager”. For the most part, Account Managers don’t manage accounts at all, their job is more like “Try To Get Money Out Of Accounts By Selling Them Stuff.”  That would be a more accurate title.  That is what they really do.

A registered Investment Advisor sounds pretty official, doesn’t it? Registered where and with whom, I’d like to know.  (And for what?) Well, a little research helped me uncover the fact that this indicates the investment advisor is registered with the SEC. That means they have to follow the rules and guidelines and take some special courses in order to do their jobs in compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  So it is not just some empty title, the job is a serious one and a person’s interests and needs are taken into consideration.

What kind of investments do they advise on? Some fee only investment advisors specialize in certain areas such as personal finances, business finances, etc. Many, however, educate themselves on a  broad range of products and services. This allows them to assist with the overall financial management of a person’s or business’s portfolio and tactical investment strategy. If a business has no contingency plan in case of an owner’s serious illness or accident, investment advisors might recommend an insurance product to provide coverage. If a person has no savings to help them through an emergency such as lay off or illness, registered investment advisor might recommend a form of retirement savings account that could be withdrawn early under certain circumstances, such as a Roth IRA.