The ethical financial advisor

A stockbroker is someone who invests your money until there is nothing left.

So said Woody Allen, and there is many a true word spoken in jest. I don’t have a stockbroker. I can manage investing until there is nothing left quite well myself. And I am saving a heap in commissions. But to tell the truth, I would like to change my investment goals. So, on the look out for a financial advisor who is not afraid of the empathy gap, I read at Globeinvestor that Danielle Park had gotten her clients out of the market back in May before the crash. I did a search and found the site of her investment counsel firm, Venable Park. Here I found reports, predicting the credit crisis months in advance. Not only that but I found that Danielle has a blog, Juggling Dynamite where she posts almost daily comments, advice and pertinent links. And not only that, Danielle has written a book, which gives its name to the blog - Juggling Dynamite – which if you had read it in time would have warned you of the coming meltdown in the financial world and allowed you to protect your capital. After reading her blog and watching her interviews, I became convinced that Danielle is that rare breed: a totally ethical financial advisor. Ethical, but also smart. Smart, but also knowledgeable. Knowledgeable, but also decisive.
And Danielle knows all about the empathy gap. She tells of the sceptical reaction she got from her clients in 2007 and early 2008 when she tried to convince them that a financial tsunami was on the radar screen. I am sure they are all worshipping her conscientious prudence today.
Danielle’s firm manages clients with portfolios of one million dollars and more. I’m a few dollars short, but if you are like me, you can still profit from the million-dollar advice she gives in her book and at her firm’s website and the timely commentary in her blog, which is what I intend to do. Because Woody Allen also said:

Wealth is better than poverty if only for financial reasons.

Pass the word to your friends, get the message out. Danielle’s advice can help us get through this mess and avoid similar disasters in the future.