The Future is Here... and it's a Rodeo Clown

Last week I attended a conference in Las Vegas for Mortgage Planners. It was the second meeting of it's kind and, I believe, the largest gathering of mortgage professionals ever. The main topic of the three day conference is something you are going to be hearing a lot about over the coming months: mortgage planning as a method to increase assets and wealth. I appreciated this conference and I enjoyed the cowboy flavor that still exists in this desert town. I also came away with two things: a lot of good information and a healthy little fear of rodeo clowns and dime store cowboys.

Please do not misunderstand, I am all in favor of this movement. So much so in fact, that I and a few others here have been practicing it for years. Of course, until recently we did not know we had a name (Mortgage Planning Specialists) and there was certainly no marketing material or training. Myself and others were simply practicing what we had learned in the securities business, which is where most of us started. But as a wise man once sang , "times, they are a changin'." This conference with over 3900 attendees included books, training programs and seminars by specialists who have been practicing fiduciary responsibility and mortgage planning for ten and even fifteen years. There was an overt emphasis on taking care of the client but there was also a more subtle message that anyone can do this with a few hours of training and some fancy software. This is the part that scares me.

The idea that a mortgage is the most important tool in a person's investment portfolio is not new. Nor is the idea that people should be taking better care of their retirement (the average Baby Boomer has less than $56,000 put away for their golden years). The mistake of paying down your mortgage and the great lies called 401Ks are all well documented. Again, many of us have been working with our clients on their entire financial picture for years. What is new is the idea that this is another way to "generate business"... a form of marketing . This should be scary to everyone that hears it. Does it even have to be said that 18 hours of classroom training and a Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist certificate does not make you a financial planner? No more so than the idea that because you spent $1300 to get the certification you are qualified to advise others on their spending.

As this idea takes off - and it is going to be the buzz in our industry for a while - let's make sure that our clients' best interests come first. Ask yourself, if you get on a plane, do you want the pilot to be the guy that just passed his test and received his civil air license? Or do you want the pilot to be a former Top Gun Aviator with 15 years of experience? I am all for the client receiving the best advice possible. Based on my experience as a stock broker, options trader and loan originator, sound, experienced advice is not even enough; I believe that loans should exhibit transparency the same as investments do. Most importantly, however, debt based financial planners should not be inexperienced loan originators dressed up in the clown's makeup of a marketing plan; fueled by seminars, slick advertising and designations short on experience and long on gravitas. That type of dime store cowboy is referred to as "all hat and no cattle". I will finish with one last bit of cowboy wisdom: when you are approached by someone with a mortgage planning title and a well funded seminar, make sure "this ain't their first rodeo".