​Tony Robbins: newest saviour for financial advisors?

The self-help guru’s got a new book out talking about money but also talking up what he considers to be the ideal independent investment advisor.

We’ve heard this all before.

Someone with a lot of star power but not much knowledge of investing (think Lenny Dykstra) gains 15 minutes of investment fame by making a few correct market calls or pronouncements.

Robbins announced on MSNBC Tuesday that he specifically wrote Money: Master the Game because he was angry with what was happening to average Americans when it comes to money. 

Growing up poor, the motivational speaker admits he was really affected by the 2008 market collapse; as a result he sought out 50 of the most successful investors and businessmen in the U.S. to learn as much as he could about making and keeping money. 

He’s turned this information into a book to help the general public, and a key pillar of that is finding registered investment advisors who believe in the idea of a fiduciary duty. Make no mistake that means always putting their clients’ interests ahead of their own.

With a couple of big hitters from the advisor world — Brian Hamburger of MarketCounsel and Elliot Weissbluth of HighTower Advisors — in his corner, Hamburger states, “There’s not a spokesperson for guys who are doing it the right way. That position has been open for some time now, and it cannot be held by someone who is in the industry.”

WP reached out to Findependence Day’s Jon Chevreau to get his views on Robbins’ new career path. Chevreau, a seasoned pro in financial journalism, suggests people tread carefully when considering Robbins’ motives for helping bridge the gap between consumers and advisors. After all, he does have a book to sell.

Ulterior motives aside, there is an important message to glean from Tony Robbins’ self-promotion which is that advisors need to always remember they have a fiduciary duty to their clients no matter the circumstances.

Forgetting this maxim on occasion is what gives certain advisors a bad reputation.
 

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