You are not in compliance ...

On Monday, my wife and I were waiting for our airplane at LAX. We were looking forward to our trip to Ontario to visit our son. My phone rings and on the other end is Our Pick, Eric Wilson.

Over the next few minutes, Eric tells me why he doesn't think he will be able to be listed as our choice. He goes on to tell me that other people need to be listed on the website, or it will appear that he is sponsoring the site himself. Also, I did not initially represent the interview with Eric as an interview, but instead I told him that I just wanted to get some more info. When I posted it word-for-word as an interview, it created a compliance issue for Eric because apparently, according the the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Eric is supposed to get permission before participating in an interview-style conversation.

Wow, I was mad. I got on the plane and was agitated the entire way to Ontario. The next morning, I had to speak with my attorney about a property I was selling, so I decided to ask about the website and everything Eric had mentioned to me. My attorney quickly responded back that I should be happy that Edward Jones has the concerns that they do and that the strict compliance requirements that they and the SEC have placed on Eric as a financial advisor are actually there to protect clients against unscrupulous brokers.

He was right. Edward Jones was doing the right thing for their clients and the public. So, I calmed down and, over the next day or so, communicated back and forth with Eric and Edward Jones to get everything straight. In the end, they agreed to let Eric be on the site, and everything is good to go.

What's the moral of the story? Not only is Eric a great financial advisor, but he works for a company that really does put a considerable amount of time and energy protecting their clients. In the end, we like Eric even more because of this!