Before telling clients to toss their father’s watch or their grandfather’s decoy ducks, advisors should double check that collection isn’t a valuable investment. CNBC reports that many times, collectibles are more valuable than you’d think and might make a tidy investing tactic. For example, waterfowl decoys are increasing in value. A duck decoy sold at auction for $767,000 in January. Meanwhile watch and clock collections can go for big bucks at auction. An antique 1933 watch from luxury watchmaker Patek Philippe was auctioned at Sotheby's in late 1999 for more than $11 million.
More U.K. Business Owners Turning to Social Media for Financial Advice
A large portion of small and medium sized-businesses in the U.K. are getting financial advice from Google or social media, according to a new study by IGF Invoice Finance, a commercial finance provider based near London. The study shows that about 33 percent are getting information from these online mediums. In comparison, 34 percent of those surveyed said that their accountant is their most trusted source of business advice. "Without advice, SMEs simply cannot make an informed decisions, and in business an uninformed decision is often a wrong decision,” said Tracy Ewen, managing director of IGF Invoice Finance. Ewen further claims that advice from social platforms could be outdated and unreliable, and can't possibly provide the personal levels of advice that a wealth manager can provide.
The Federal Trade Commission filed a suit on Wednesday to close down controversial energy drink producer Vemma, deeming the multi-level-marketing company an “illegal pyramid scheme,” according to Forbes. The FTC alleges that Vemma, which sells a variety of energy and weight loss drinks through a network of independent “affiliates,” gains the majority of its income not from selling product, but through the constant recruitment of new distributors with unrealistic promises of prospective income. These affiliates, who are largely young adults, pay a “starter fee” of up to $600 on top of the monthly cost of actual product to sell. This case could have wide-ranging implications for several of the more high-profile publicly traded MLM companies, like Herbalife and NuSkin, which are already coming under close scrutiny from the SEC.
Does Your Job Match Your Personality?
Are you an I-N-T-J? If you're a financial advisor, then that's the best personality for you, based on the "Do What You Are" personality guide on the Myers-Briggs System. According to the guide, financial advisors should be "Creative perfectionists who prefer to do things their own way. INTJs perform well in non-social roles that require them to think theoretically. Does that sound like you?