Stephen Levy Has Been Admitted to the Paladin Registry

Austin, TX 07/01/09. Paladin announced that Stephen Levy has been admitted to the Registry and he has been awarded Paladin’s Five Star quality designation. Planners and advisors must rank in the top 10% of their profession to be admitted to the Registry.

The Paladin Registry provides free public services to investors who use the services of financial planners and advisors. Since its inception, more than 250,000 investors have used the Registry to learn how to avoid bad financial advice, to learn how to select high quality advisors, to find competent, trustworthy professionals, to rate current advisors, and to review advisor documentation for credentials, ethics, and business practices.

Jack Waymire, Paladin founder and author of the highly regarded book Who’s Watching Your Money? The 17 Paladin Principles for Selecting a Financial Advisor (ISBN 0471476994, John Wiley & Sons, December, 2003) said “Registry services solve three major problems for investors who rely on planners and advisors to achieve their financial goals. First, it’s not easy for investors to find high quality advisors. Second, when they find advisors they may not know the right questions to ask to determine their quality. And third, they may not know good answers from bad ones. Consequently, millions of investors hire the wrong advisors for the wrong reasons and fire them within two years.”

Waymire went on to say, “The Registry solves the quality problem by having the highest minimum standards in the financial services industry. Planners and advisors must complete a comprehensive questionnaire and score in the top 10% of their profession to be admitted to the Registry. In addition, they must be Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) or Investment Advisor Representatives (IARs), acknowledge their fiduciary status, provide independent advice, and work for fees.”

Waymire confirmed that only a small percentage of practicing planners and advisors can meet the Registry’s strict requirements. He said “We focus on the top tier of professionals who are paid to help investors achieve their financial goals. We exclude the bottom 90% who are frequently paid commissions to sell investment and insurance products. Anyone who isn’t paid to help investors achieve their financial goals is a potential risk.”

He added, “This risk exists because the financial services industry has no minimum standards for advisors. There are no education requirements, not even a high school diploma, and no experience requirements. In fact, 18 year olds and people with criminal records can obtain securities licenses. The combination of no real standards and no disclosure requirements create a major risk for investors and the Paladin Registry is one of the few resources that help them avoid the risk.” 

About Paladin Registry, LLC
Paladin is an information services company and not a financial services company. The Registry provides free public services to investors who use the services of financial planners and advisors. The four primary services are investor education, advisor search, advisor ratings, and advisor documentation. 

About Stephen Levy
Stephen Levy has been providing wealth management services in Austin, TX for the past eight years and he has 15 years of financial industry experience.  In addition to his five star status in the Paladin Registry, he is an Accredited Wealth Management Advisor (AWMA) from the College For Financial Planning; he and his firm Birdrock Asset Management have also received the coveted “Top Gun” award as of 12/31/08 from Informa PSN for their Small Cap Value and Large Cap Value portfolios. Stephen also holds a Series 66 license. Prior to that, he worked with Janus Capital in Austin, TX.  Visit his website at www.birdrockam.com  for additional information.

Key Contact
Stephen Levy
512-236-0071
steve@birdrockam.com