A financial advisor's knowledge and consultation are essential to a successful investment portfolio.

Financial advisors, also known as financial consultants, are looked at as an expendable resource to some investors because they believe that they can successfully invest on their own. Individuals with large sums of money, known as high net worth investors, are nervous when it comes to hiring someone to manage their money or advise as to what to do with it. Many investors relish the ability to invest on their own via online brokerages. Other investors worry that an advisor may take advantage of them by making more trades than necessary just to collect on commissions. Despite these concerns it has been statistically shown that investors that employ the talents of a financial consultant are more successful in saving for retirement. As shown in the chart to the right, it is much more common for investors that do not get help to make investments with too little or too much risk for them to be successful. Financial advisors are professionals at what they do just like people in any other qualified occupation; therefore, the intelligent thing for investors to do is to trust their advisor's input on their investments the same way they would value a doctor's opinion on their health.

High net worth clients look for a certain set of skills when selecting a financial consultant.

Morgan Stanley financial advisor, Donald Chomas, says that it is more effective to show a potential client that you have the qualities they desire in a consultant rather than try to give them a sales pitch on why they should hire you. As with any business, there are many different levels of clients based on the amount of money that they have available to invest. Obviously, clients with more money are worth more to a firm such as Morgan Stanley; therefore, it is vital for advisors to know what attracts these high net worth investors.

(Chomas discusses what high net worth clients are looking for)

Chomas' top two items that a high net worth client focuses on (retirement planning and education funding) are also shown by Forbes to be the most important, accounting for more than 50% of the responses in a survey given to high net worth individuals. The shift in concern towards these two financial areas is a result of the economic hardships of recent years. People have a growing worry about funding their retirement with the talk of Social Security not being able to support the increasing number of retirees. Adults view their children as one of the most significant pieces of their lives, and it is not surprising that one of their biggest interests financially is how to give their kids the best education possible. 

High net worth investors are not the only individuals who can benefit from a financial advisor's services. Many middle class people hire consultants as well, and the importance of an advisor when it comes to investing is becoming common knowledge. Even non-investing college students such as Stephen Banasiak, interviewed in the audio clip below, have a sense of what financial professionals have to offer.

listen to ‘Financial advisor recording 1’ on Audioboo

The expansion of online brokerages in recent years should not deter people from hiring a financial advisor. 

The growth in online brokerages such as E*Trade, Scottrade, and Fidelity have given investors access to up to the minute stock quotes and almost any financial statistic that is available to financial consultants. The one major difference between an online brokerage and a normal brokerage firm is that online clients do not get the advice and personal attention to their portfolios that the other clients do. When it comes time to decide which security to invest in, online clients are on their own, but a client that meets regularly with a financial advisor has the capability to consult with a professional before making a potentially large decision, depending on the amount of money being invested. The financial advising industry has adapted as the technology in the world has advanced. Prior to the internet, financial information was not as easily accessible and financial advisors acted more in a way of sharing information with clients. Since most financial data needed to make an investment decision is available online, the financial industry has adjusted to interpret and analyze this information for clients instead of simply supplying them with the statistics. This professional analysis is why it is the intelligent choice for investors to employ a financial advisor rather than an online brokerage. 

A good financial advisor avoids ethical dilemmas by making his clients his top priority. 

One of the biggest ethical issues that financial consultants and firms face is deciding whether to charge their clients based on fees or commission. A client that pays a fee-based charge for professional services pays his advisor a percentage of the total assets being managed. This means that the only way a financial professional could raise his income is by increasing the follow of his clients portfolios. On the other hand, a commission-based payment plan gives the financial advisor a lot more control over how much money his clients will pay him thus creating ethical problems. When clients pay commission, they pay a set amount for each transaction or trade that their financial advisor makes. This means that, regardless of whether or not the investments are making money, the financial consultant will be paid the same amount. The ethical issue that arises from this is that an advisor could intentionally make more trades than necessary in order to make more money for himself via commissions. 

Chomas uses fee-based payments with his clients, but addressed the commission-based approach by saying that the key to an ethical financial advisor is his morals and how he treats everyone around him and not simply his clients. 

(Chomas discusses the ethical issues of the financial industry)

Hiring a financial advisor is a smart move for any investor, but finding the best one for your needs is essential. 

Financial consultants can greatly affect the lives of their clients; therefore, it is important to choose carefully when it comes time to hire one. A good advisor can help clients to save enough to retire years earlier than they could have without professional guidance. Finding someone that you can trust with your life savings and investments is definitely not an easy task, but many large financial firms have made the process much easier on their clients. Firms do background checks and interviews with all potential new employees; therefore, investors should feel a sense of security that their advisor is trusted to represent a prestigious financial firm. Large firms are presented with thousands of applicants each year and select only the best to be hired. Investors need to feel comfortable discussing financial options with their advisor and large financial firms provide a great environment for this.




Second man on the street interview:

listen to ‘Financial advisor recording 2’ on Audioboo

Financial advisors

Financial advising is very important when it comes to retirement and investment planning. Financial advisors will give information to clients concerning which stocks to buy or what to do with their money. Clients pay their advisors for transactions and this fee is called a commission. Financial advisors also can collect a percentage of the earnings from their clients portfolios if they are making money. A portfolio is a collection of an individual's investments and it is generally varied with different types of stock. For example, many people will invest in both stocks and mutual funds or ETF's. When investing in stocks, advisors will suggest to vary the investments in your portfolio for example it would not be smart to invest in both Coca-Cola and Pepsi Co. since they are such similar companies.

Financial advisors are like salesmen because it is their job to convince clients to purchase the stocks or funds that they recommend. A good salesperson could make a living as a financial advisor without truly understanding economics, financing, or accounting because they are capable of convincing people to buy whatever it is that they are selling. Financial advisors have changed their job title from stock broker to financial advisor so that they can give off the perception in their title that they have advice to offer their clients.

Questions for my interview with an expert:
1) What sets financial advisors apart from investment managers?
2) How frequently do you meet or have contact with each client?
3) What do those meetings entail for established clients?

Financial advisor recording 2

listen to ‘Financial advisor recording 2’ on Audioboo

Financial advisor recording 1

listen to ‘Financial advisor recording 1’ on Audioboo

Practice boo

listen to ‘Practice boo’ on Audioboo

Cognitive Dissonance Is Constantly Present In Multiple Aspects Of College Life.

The theory of cognitive dissonance, according to our textbook, says that we act first and then rationalize or create reasons for our behavior afterward in order to fit our actions into our self-perceived notions of who we are. The most common time I can think of that this is the case is when a student should be studying or working on homework.

How many times do you watch TV, play video games, or go on social media when you should be doing schoolwork?

I'm going to assume that the answer is a lot, and if you are anything like me, then each time you catch yourself doing this, you tell yourself, "Oh it's okay I'll start my work after just ten more minutes or one more level." This is a prime example of cognitive dissonance because students constantly procrastinate and make up reasons to convince themselves why it is okay. 

Nobody wants to think poorly of themselves!

No student wants to think of themselves as lazy or useless when it comes to doing homework. People like to have a positive image of themselves and consider themselves successful in life, and the theory of cognitive dissonance plays right into this desire. With cognitive dissonance, we can rationalize any of the lazy things we do to be reasonable since we had a hard day or needed to relax. It allows us to take any course of action and then create the reasoning later for why it was necessary to do at the time. 

Some instances of cognitive dissonance are not as harmless as procrastination of homework.

As discussed in the book, cognitive dissonance explains the reasoning for college students putting up with hazing in order to join a fraternity or sorority (such as in the movie Animal House shown here). Young people crave acceptance, especially in the social scene in college. As a result of this, they are will to continue going through the traditional hazings of Greek Life year after year in order to take part in the social aspect, specifically parties. 

So, why do students not take a stand to change this unenjoyable tradition?

The reason is simple. We are accepting of the traditions and actions of people around us that we view as our peers and equals. People feel intimidated by old customs because they do not want to be the first to go against the norm. This intimidation leads to it being easier to just accept the hazing and rationalize with yourself later that it is just something you had to do in order to be accepted in the social scene of the fraternity or sorority. In this type of situation, cognitive dissonance is linked to "peer pressure."

Uncertainty leads to cognitive dissonance. 

The environments that hazing is common in include the military, fraternities, and sports teams. One thing that each of these have in common is that the new members do not know what to expect. This uncertainty and unknowing of what they have coming to them and how it compares to what their superiors went through can lead to a more accepting attitude toward hazing. When a new pledge arrives, he does not know what the normal process is and whether or not his future brothers already endured exactly the same hazing that they are putting him through. Because of this lack of knowledge, pledges are inclined to not argue with the brothers because they do not know how the process is supposed to go.

Even when students take a stand against hazing, it happens more often after the fact.

At my high school, there was a hazing incident involving the varsity lacrosse team that blew up when two of the hazed individuals came forward and reported it. At the time of the hazing, which consisted of shaving inappropriate designs into the new players' heads, all the members of the team cooperated without complaint. Peer pressure and the factor of uncertainty discussed above played a part in the new players going along with the routine. Following the haircuts, cognitive dissonance did not affect all of the new players in the ways discussed so far in this post. Two of the hazed individuals rationalized the situation which they had originally accepted and realized that it had been wrong. They took the case to school officials and the senior captains were promptly kicked off the team. 

This is only one example, but it shows that cognitive dissonance does not control every hazing situation. The biggest factor with hazing is not that people justify the actions as being necessary to get accepted within the group; rather, the most important thing is how strong the character of the hazed individual is and whether they are able to stand up to what they must know is wrong deep inside.

3-D TV has made many developments since 1838 in order to reach your living room

3-D televisions are the new big thing to get for your home! IMAX has dominated the 3-D world for years now, but times and technologies have changed allowing for 3-D to enter the homes of middle class Americans. The idea of viewing two dimensional pictures in 3-D originated in 1838 with Sir Charles Wheatstone. He presented the concept to the Royal Society of London using a piece of cellophane paper to view the picture through. Cellophane paper is what was used for the lenses in the original blue and red lensed 3-D glasses.

3-D technology continued to advance with polarized 3-D. This is the popular type of 3-D for the movie theaters because the glasses are relatively cheap to make (about $1.50 apiece). The glasses consist of two different lenses that each pick up a different set of images sent forth from two perfectly synchronized projectors in the theater. This is convenient for movie theaters because they have the luxury of being able to use synchronized projectors to display the two sets of images; however, most people do not have projectors in their homes. To get around this, 3-D designers developed Active Shutter 3-D. Active Shutter 3-D is very expensive because it requires you to buy a new 3-D TV and a single pair of glasses can cost up to $100.

The technology used for Active Shutter 3-D allows the TV and the glasses to sync so that the TV displays the image for your right eye while the glasses "shutter" or cover your left eye's vision.

The process then repeats itself for the other eye and continues in a rotation. Since the images can now be shown at separate times and do not require synchronized projectors, it is possible to
install the technology in a home TV.

With 3-D gaining popularity, the demand for popular movies and shows to be in 3-D is higher. The trouble is that in order for something to be shown in 3-D, it needs to be filmed in 3-D. In order to film something in 3-D, a producer must film a scene with two angles with separate cameras that are completely in sync. There are multiple companies currently trying to come up with a way to develop a 3-D camera that records through two lenses at the same time. Fujifilm was able to make a camera in 2009 that could take 3-D photographs, but no one has been able to design a 3-D video camera yet.

3-D technology and the advancements that have been made to allow for it to enter homes are amazing; however, it is not catching on with the same fire that other technological advancements have such as iPads, Kindles, iPhones, etc. 

Two of the biggest downsides to 3-D television are the price and the limited selection of movies and shows that are available to view in 3-D. As the advancements with 3-D continue, I would expect for the prices to become more reasonable and the selection to expand once a 3-D video camera is invented. As a result, 3-D TV's will become more popular and more common to see in people's homes.