Released: July 08, 2007

For elderly investors, financial advisors abound

Source: Charles Duhigg, New York Times (Free Registration)

Elderly clients thought they had every reason to trust Michael DelMonico as a financial counselor. After all, the Massachusetts insurance agent had become a certified senior adviser in 2002, a credential he made sure to advertise on fliers sent to retirees.

He did not mention how easy it had been to get that title. He had paid $1,095 for a correspondence course, then took a multiple-choice exam with questions like, “Marketing can best be described as:” (The answer: “The process or technique of promoting the sale or distribution of a product or service.”) Like more than 18,700 other applicants since 1997, he passed.

Insurance companies, eager for sales representatives, embraced Mr. DelMonico, as they have thousands of other newly credentialed advisers.

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