Barofsky met with Geithner in the fall of 2009 to express his concern that the Treasury Department had made TARP unpopular by not being fully forthcoming about how TARP was being used, including not forcing banks disclose how they were spending TARP funds. Geithner got dramatic, [Barofksy writes in his new book, Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street and said] ‘Neil, you think I don’t hear those criticisms? I hear them. And each one, they cut me,’ he said, pausing and then making an emphatic cutting motion with one hand as he said ‘like a knife.’” After a Geithner subordinate in the room, Herb Allison, expressed personal offense at Barofsky’s suggestion that Geithner has not been fully transparent, Barofsky responded, “I am not suggesting that the secretary has failed in transparency, I am stating it. Mr. Secretary, you’ve failed to be sufficiently transparent, and that is one of the reasons why people are so angry. But you can still fix it.” And that’s when the ticking time bomb that was Geithner erupted, telling Barofsky: ‘No one has ever made the banks disclose the type of shit that I made them disclose after the stress tests. No one! And now you’re saying that I haven’t been fucking transparent?’ Cooler heads prevailed, and the meeting went on, but Geithner never really came fully off the boil. “As we parried back and forth, Geithner repeatedly reached a pitch of anger, regaling me with detailed expletive-filled explanations that established my apparent idiocy. He would then calm himself down and give me a forced, almost demonic smile.” After the meeting was over, Barofsky and his deputy, Kevin Puvalowski, had a big laugh about it. ‘In all honesty, I think he was about to come out of his chair and beat the living shit out of you,’ Puvalowski remarked. [HuffPo]
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You know what they say: You can’t choose your family, but you can choose your financial planner. Or something like that. One of the great things of being in charge of your money is choosing who (if anyone) will help you manage it. The choice isn’t always an easy one. How will you know that your planner is reputable and trustworthy?
These five red flags may be good indications of whether the financial planner sitting across from you is someone you should trust with your money. LearnVest Planning also provides an innovative 7-step program for your money where you work one-on-one with a financial planner. To see if this program is right for you, start with a free financial consultation.
1. She Isn’t Certified
“There are a lot of good planners out there who aren’t Certified Financial Panners™,” says Samantha Vient, CFP®, of LearnVest Planning Services. “However, CFPs® are required to adhere to the CFP® Board’s standards of professional conduct.We believe it’s always a good idea to work with someone who has the CFP® designation, which is issued after completing a CFP® Board-approved personal financial planning curriculum, passing a rigorous exam issued by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, meeting experience requirements and passing an ethics and background check.
2. He Offers to Manage Your Money for “Free”
Financial planners are usually paid in one of two ways: Either through fee-only, which can be a set fee, hourly, retainer or a percentage of the assets they manage for you, or through commission, which means the planner is paid each time he buys or sells an investment.Fee-only payment structures can be more desirable to some clients, as there’s no financial incentive based on assets under management for a planner to buy or sell, whereas working on commission encourages planners to make trades, rather than solely look out for your best interest—called a “fiduciary” duty. (You want to be sure that the planner you choose is a fiduciary.)
LearnVest Planning Services provides the services of fee-only Certified Financial Planners™. Get started for free with a 15-minute financial consultation.
3. She Says She Outperforms the Market
“If a financial planner tells you that she can outperform the market, that’s a major red flag,” Vient explains. “In fact, due to government regulations, it’s illegal to advertise statements that promise a specific return.”Outperforming the market—that is, getting better investment returns than the market average—is extremely difficult to do consistently, and requires taking a lot of risks with your investments. It’s rare to find a financial planner who can consistently outperform the market—and results are never guaranteed. Either way, in the pursuit of these high returns, she’ll be exposing your investments to much higher risk than you may be comfortable with.
Instead, look for a CFP® who, when looking at your portfolio, can advise on proper asset allocation based on your risk tolerance and time horizon, as well as through economic ups and downs.
4. She Doesn’t Ask About Your Financial Goals
“Your planner isn’t just there to crunch the numbers,” Vient advises. “She’s helping you make a plan for your money and your life. You should be looking for someone who has similar values to you.”Ideally, you’ll likely want to work with someone who is in a similar life stage. Are you a parent? A planner with children may be better able to understand your need to save for college. Does your CFP® have a specialty? Some planners have an area of expertise, like insurance, estate planning, divorce or retirement—a fact you might want to consider if that’s a particular need of yours.
When meeting a potential planner, remember that you’re allowed to ask questions about their experience and priorities: “Do you think it’s more important to save for retirement or pay off debt? How do you feel about supporting kids through college? How do you mitigate investment risk as your clients get older?”
The choices you make with your money are intensely personal. The person who helps you make these choices should be able to understand and accept your financial priorities, and help you use your money to meet them.
5. His Management Style Makes You Uncomfortable
Financial planners can manage your money for you or manage your money with you. As different people have different needs when it comes to money management, there is no right way to work with a planner—it’s up to you to decide how hands-on you want him to be.
When you sign on with a financial planner, there will be a written agreement of how the two of you will manage your money. Read this carefully, and ask questions if you’re unsure about anything. Are you signing your accounts over to this planner? Will he check in with you before making a trade, or when rebalancing your accounts? If you’re uncomfortable with anything in the agreement, bring it up immediately.Learn more about LearnVest Planning and our financial planners by visiting learnvest.com. To book your free consultation today, email FA_Support@learnvest.com or complete your request online.
LearnVest Planning Services is a registered investment adviser. The opinions expressed in this article are that of LearnVest Planning Services, a registered investment adviser. The advice provided may not be suitable for your individual situation and you should discuss your situation with a financial professional.
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The only thing Tiny Timeh can beat-up is his midget turbotax tax spreadsheet.
How many Pol- ah forget it
And whose army?
I don't know why but the idea of two guys named Timmy and Neil getting in a fight makes me laugh.
Barofsky > Burgundy?
http://www.hark.com/clips/vgwrhvxblv-escalated
Neil Barofsky isn't impressed by knife hand gestures. Back in Bogota they came at him with real knives.
What means transparent?
- National Bureau of Statistics, PRC
Lets just say quite a few.
“I am not suggesting that the secretary has failed in transparency, I am stating it."
Suck on that Herb.
They obviously did not have this get-together at the NY Athletic Club.
ahem?
- Herb Allison, personally offended subordinate ready to rage
What a mouth on Lil' Timmy! Who woulda thunk it?
Give him a break. Geithner's house in Larchmont was still on the market and his realtor was pestering him to drop the price. Stressful!
Be careful, Neil, I kicked Chinese butt on the basketball court and I'll kick yours too.
Geithner looks like Dr. Janosz Poha from Ghostbusters 2 and nothing like Bill Crudup. That's all I've got.
Big Gulps, huh? Well, see ya later.
Well, what a bunch of cordial fellows.
Well done TImmy-san
-Chris Webber
Thought about it all the time.
Hope that Timmy sang all of "Every Rose Has its Thorn", not just the "cuts me like a knife" verse.
I guess he showed Neil who's Neil
Tim Geitner can #HMD
Based on the revalation of this new facet of Timmy's personality, I know who I'd cast to play him in the movie…[youtube JjAyazqtQj8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjAyazqtQj8 youtube]
Wow that sounds like a really good deal. But I think I have a better one. How about I give you the finger?
TG grunts…
Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me, you brain-dead dwarf.
- Reported retort from Neil Barofsky
At the corner of Main and Elm street, thanks.
Uh, huh… Ok. Yeah, I know… Ok, thanks, see ya there.
This is amazing. Is the actual show as entertaining?
I’ll bitch slap the shit out of you
I know, right?
- Billy Crudup
I'd picture it as a cartoonish and ineffective slap-fest, with many tears shed on both sides.
Yup, fucking hilarious. "Veep," on HBO is meant to be an American version of it, but doesn't pull it off.
- Profanity Laden Entertainment Quant
Its time to hit the gym in a serious way when someone tells you that Tim Geithner was about to beat the living shit out of you.
Geithner believes confidence in the banking system trumps all other concerns. After all that's what his mentor Larry Summers believed . This is just another episode in a series of freebies including the famous 100% pay-off on AIG CDS contracts. Convincing Eric Holder not to prosecute Wall Street is yet another example.
<img src="http://www.mynewcarquote.us/ikea/is.jpg"/>I'm entirely with Tim Geithner on this one. Do the right thing Tim! <img src="http://www.mynewcarquote.us/xbox/vi.jpg"/>
Beat the crap out of him, nah. However, could probably headbutt him to death.