A week later, the planner’s office
manager received a call from the husband of the client couple who had purchased the LTCI. He expressed anger
and concern because one of his better
customers had asked his wife how satisfied they were with the long-term care
arrangements they had made with their
financial-planning practice. He was very
concerned that the detailed medical information they provided for the insurance might have been discussed with his
customer. He even intimated that he and
his wife might move their financial affairs to another professional.
The moral
The planner in this example meant no
harm to his clients. He felt he had been
sufficiently discreet in his conversation
with his golf club associates. Upon reflection, he knew he had gained inter-
est in perhaps getting the planning work
with each of the associates, which he did
not have at that time. Nonetheless he did
not second-guess his comments. He just
AN ADVISOR SHOULD
ALWAYS ASK IF HIS
COMMENTS CAN
REVEAL HIS CLIENT’S
IDENTITY.
did not realize that the standard of ethical practice in his clients’ view had been
raised.
We should remember that as financial
planning and advising gain recognition
as professions, the standard for all areas
of client service must rise. Behavior that
was considered ethical in the past is being
questioned today.
Mum’s the word
Maintaining client confidentiality today
must go beyond the planner and his staff
keeping client information confidential
to keeping any identifying indicators of
client information unspoken and within
the confines of the practice. A financial
advisor should always ask himself if his
comments can reveal his client’s identity or information the client doesn’t want
him to reveal.
As a rule of thumb, for ethical and
possibly legal reasons, “When in doubt,
do not discuss.”
Frank C. Bearden, Ph.D., CLU, ChFC, is a
consultant in San Antonio who works with
financial advisors and adult education organizations. He is also an adjunct faculty
member of the College for Financial Planning and a member of NAIFA-San Antonio.
Reach him at fcbearden@yahoo.com.
