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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Have You Leveraged NEB’s CNBC Appearance Yet? |
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As you may know, NEB received a strong testimonial on CNBC recently. In fact, the network’s program “On the Money” urged all consumers to check out their advisors with NEB before doing business. Have you leveraged this tremendous marketing opportunity? If not, here’s what to do:
Click and watch this (2 ½ minute) clip. Be sure to leave positive feedback on YouTube. | Continued » |
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Help Your Clients Avoid New Investment Scams
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Recent stock market volatility and declining yields on certificates of deposit and other fixed-income investments are bad news for two reasons: first, they erode client retirement assets and income and second, they unleash more and increasingly devious investment scams.
State securities regulators warn that fraudsters are now preying on investor fears and desire to recapture income. “The recent turmoil in the credit and real estate markets has led some investors to seek higher returns in non-traditional, speculative investments—a proven feeding ground for unscrupulous promoters,” says Ron Thomas, director of the Virginia securities division. | 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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Keeping Promises
Keeps Clients
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Welcome to the political season . . . a time of countless local, state, and national elections. It’s also a time when politicians make promises they will never keep, I promise. What else is new? As the noted Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen once said, “Promises and pie crusts are made to be broken.” |
But even though no one is surprised when politicians break their promises, it still is unfortunate. That’s because broken promises breed jaded citizens. And when a country’s citizens become jaded, they lose faith in their future. And that’s not a good thing.
In much the same fashion, the issue of promises made and kept is important in our own business. For example, insurance policies bind insurers to provide benefits in return for the payment of premiums. Financial guarantee associations and the FDIC promise to make consumers whole if their insurer or bank goes bust. | Continued » |
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| 10 Ways to Promote Your NEB Membership |
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Remember the philosophical question, “If a tree falls in a forest, and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Well, there’s a similar question regarding NEB membership: “If you get approved for NEB membership and no one knows about it, does it really matter?”
Some would argue it does matter because it’s personally rewarding to get recognized for one’s responsible business practices. Others contend it would matter more if your clients, prospects, and referral sources knew about it and did business with you | Continued » |
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Walking the Ethics Talk
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A lot of financial advisors talk about ethics. But fewer actually “walk the talk” with their career decisions or business practices. Todd Cousino, President of Cousino Financial, LLC, falls into the latter camp.
In 1995, one of Cousino’s neighbors recruited him right out of college into a well-known national financial advisory firm. Being brand new, he didn’t really get the distinction between proprietary and non-proprietary products. But before long, he felt pressure to move clients into company-branded offerings, even though better products were available elsewhere. |
Pressure to move money
Bothered by this conflict of interest, Cousino and 120 other advisors jumped to a new independent broker-dealer, where they hoped to have a freer rein. But alas, it wasn’t to be. Where the first company forced the sale of proprietary products, the second put restrictions on the number of third-party products they could use. Once again, Cousino felt pressured to move money for his broker-dealer’s benefit, not his clients. “My hands were completely tied in this respect,” Cousino says. | Continued » |
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Contact us: Phone: (800) 282-1831 | www.ethicscheck.com
Copyright © National Ethics Bureau Inc. 2009. All Rights Reserved.  |
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