National Ethics Bureau Admitted into National Association of Professional Background Screeners
SAN DIEGO, CA, February 23, 2009—The National Ethics Bureau (NEB) has been accepted into the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), the leading national resource for the rapidly expanding background screening industry.
“Being part of NAPBS reflects our commitment to provide comprehensive, reliable background checks to the financial services industry,” says Jeffrey S. Kopitz, NEB President and Co-Founder. “We look forward to tapping into industry best practices in order to further refine our background-check process.” | Continued » |
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NEB Urges Advisors to Rebuild Public Confidence
SAN DIEGO, CA, January 29, 2009—The National Ethics Bureau is urging its members to restore public trust in the wake of the Bernie Madoff scandal.
“The $50 billion Madoff Ponzi scheme has done serious damage to our industry,” says NEB Chairman Steven R. McCarty. “It has made consumers question the integrity of their financial advisors and | Continued » |
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The National Ethics Bureau™ (NEB) is a leading advocate for business ethics in the financial services industry. NEB promotes ethical business practices through its trade-magazine columns, conference presentations, monthly newsletter, and website content. It also maintains a membership community of background-checked advisors who have agreed to uphold its principles and membership standards.
NEB also sponsors related services such as Preferred Risk E&O insurance and state-approved ethics and compliance continuing education courses for licensed insurance agents and securities brokers.
For the general public, NEB provides the ability to purchase a background check on any financial professional prior to doing business.
NEB is not a financial designation, nor does it endorse any products or services offered by its members or sponsors.
For more information, visit www.ethicscheck.com |
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NEB FAQs Revisited |
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Have you ever received questions about NEB that you weren’t sure how to answer? Would you like to learn more about our admission guidelines and other procedural matters? If so, then help is at hand. Each month in Member Update, we publish frequently asked questions and answers about NEB, which are taken from our official FAQ document you can get here.
This month, our questions deal with NEB’s membership standards and disqualifying violations. | Continued » |
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NASAA/AARP Unleash Seminar Watchdogs
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“Free lunch” seminars will be under even greater scrutiny due to a new program to be launched by AARP and the National Association of Securities Administrators Association (NASAA). Under the program, AARP is recruiting “Free Lunch Monitors” to attend seminars and watch for illegal sales practices. The volunteers will be provided with checklists to complete and encouraged to return the completed forms to AARP, which will share them with state regulators. | Continued » |
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| Rogue Advisors on Parade |
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Recent crimes and consequences in the
financial services industry.
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Just Say “No” . . . and Success Will Follow (Part 2)
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In recruiting new clients, are you a “yes-man” or a “yes-woman?” Do you work with everyone regardless of needs, resources, and temperament? If so, you are making a big mistake. But don’t worry. It’s not too late to change. Just ask the advisor we mentioned in last month’s column . . . Mike Reese of Michigan-based Centennial Wealth Advisory. |
Years ago, Mike took on anyone who walked through the door. But instead of having a thriving business, he was miserable and exhausted. He spent too much time with clients he didn’t like. His clients complained too much. They expected the world of him, but offered little financial or emotional rewards in return.
After suffering winters (springs, summers, and falls) of discontent, Mike finally sat down and asked himself, “Why can’t all clients be like my favorite ones?” Then he began thinking about the clients he most enjoyed working with—and writing down their characteristics. He considered their demographics (age, income, and other hard data) and psychographics (temperament, passions, tolerance, and other soft data). | Continued » |
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| Embrace Quality and Transparency in All Your Public Sessions |
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The volunteer “workshop watchdogs” are coming (see this month’s RFR). So if invitational presentations are part of the way you market your services to the public, what will you do about it? Get angry at AARP and NASAA? Stop doing public outreach? Do background checks on attendees before you admit them? There’s a better response . . . use the opportunity to truly educate the public, while demonstrating your commitment to full transparency.
Think about it. This is the Madoff era where “free lunch seminars” have been used to promote criminal activity from Ponzi schemes to worthless oil and gas deals. But it’s also an era where countless people have received tremendously valuable information at a public session. If your workshop does have a watchdog in attendance, what better time is there to demonstrate your ability to deliver helpful educational content? And while delivering this content, what better opportunity to be fully transparent | Continued » |
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Educate, Don’t Sell
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Fishing has always been a passion for Michael Kerby, president of the Senior Resource Network in Warsaw, Missouri. In fact, he got so good at it that he began entering national tournaments. He even started a company that made fishing gear, which grew and prospered for 12 years.
But then it happened. “It” was a serious car accident that left him hospitalized for two weeks and in physical therapy and rehab for over a year. It forced him to sell his business. |
Now that he was out of manufacturing, what next? A friend counseled him to consider the financial services industry, which would allow him to leverage his sales skills and client dedication. Better yet, he was willing to mentor Kerby, showing him how to develop proposals while he (the friend) | Continued »
Become NEB's next Member of the Month! (click here) |
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Contact us: Phone: (800) 282-1831 | www.ethicscheck.com
Copyright © National Ethics Bureau Inc. 2008. All Rights Reserved.  |
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