One Size DOESN'T Fit All: Getting Advice From Your Bank

There's a lot of one-size-fits-all advice out there online, but it's also pretty common to find it in somewhat unexpected places as well – at your local bank, for example.

Here's the thing: No matter how good something sounds, or how well-intentioned the advice might be, if it's boilerplate or not right for you, there's a fair chance that it's not worth following with blind acceptance.

We asked three experts, all with different backgrounds, to talk about the overly-generic advice they see on a regular basis, and how to recognize when certain advice might NOT be quite appropriate to your situation.

Our experts:
The financial journalist – Rob Carrick, The Globe and Mail
The credit counselor – Laurie Campbell, Credit Canada Debt Solutions
The lawyer – Pat Robinson, Goodmans LLP



Rob Carrick, author, columnist
The Globe and Mail

Probably the best bit of cautionary advice or commentary we heard when looking into this, comes from book author and Globe and Mail columnist, Rob Carrick:

"I think a lot of the financial advice that gets handed out at the bank level, even the financial advisor level, is pretty much the same – it all comes down to investing. It's not to say investing is a bad thing. Far from it, but it's not always the most important thing."

He points out that banks and firms make money when clients invest, which goes a long way to explain this nearly universal, primary focus and interest.

"That's the one-size-fits-all advice I see getting handed out all the time, when I think a lot of people need some attention paid to their debt levels. I think if we had more personalized advice, that would take precedence," he says.

"What you need to do is play devil's advocate a little bit. The caveat emptor rule applies, it applies more here than in almost any other transaction you make in your life. I think you have to ask questions."

Questions to ask:

• What are my alternatives?
• What other factors are you considering here?
• How do you benefit from this transaction?

"You don't need to get accusatory but you do need to go beyond – you want to find out what they're saying, but also why they're saying it. Find out how your advisor came to this idea of what you should do with your money. Tap into the line of reasoning and see how relevant it is to you."


Related:
What's Good, Bad and Downright Awful in Canadian Investments Today


More One Size DOESN'T Fit All:
Debt Settlement (Laurie Campbell, Credit Canada)
Your Last Will and Testament (Pat Robinson, Gowlings LLP)


Liked this article? Don't miss another one. Follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

Kate McCaffery is a freelance writer, editor and former urbanite, now living somewhere in between the lake, the ski hill and some farmer's cow path. Visit mccaffery.ca/kate2.0/ for more information.