In Light of Recent Sentencing of Wausau Financial Advisor, What Kind of Questions Should You Ask Your Financial Planner?

Wednesday, July 5th, 2023 -- 8:00 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) What kind of questions should you ask your financial planner in light of the recent convection of a Wausau man who was running a Ponzi scheme?

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, Meryl Kelch of Kelch and Associates says one thing to look at are the fees being charged to your account. "In our industry if you're have what's called a "managed account" where you're agreeing to pay a fee, and it's generally around 1/%, plus or minus, the fees usually come out on a quarterly basis."

"If you're seeing fees that are coming out, management fees, and they're coming out once every other month, every two weeks, every three weeks, or multiple times in a quarter, there's a problem because that's just not how it works."

He also says no legitimate financial advisor will be opposed to you seeking a second opinion from another professional. "I know, certainly, our clients do that. And I recommended it. Have an opinion or don't understand something? Seek another financial professional. It's your money folks. It's not the advisors money. Mistakes are made and mistakes can be fixed. But stealing is usually covered up."

He says the investment world is tightly regulated so cases like this are very rare. "The safe guards that are in place are absolutely astronomical. We're watching our industry from every part, every corner, and every side. And rightfully so."

Anthony Liddle, the former leader of Prosper Wealth Management in Wausau, was sentenced to eight years in a federal prison last week for swindling nearly $2 million from clients, money that was spent on his own expenses instead of invested in low-risk accounts. A federal judge in Madison called Liddle's actions "Monstrous," noting that many of his former clients were close friends.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.