Vocation, vocation, vocation.(Have You Heard?)(financial advisors)

A piece of land in a friend's neighborhood was sold to a developer, and before long a McMansion cast a shadow over the charming view. Soon after the new owners moved in, leaky windows had to be replaced and the stucco coating of the garish house began to crack. Turns out the developer was a former surgeon from Russia. One neighbor said he wouldn't trust his hernia operation to a builder, and we shouldn't expect a solid house from a doctor.

But what about professionals whose title implies that they're governed by the same ethical principles that guide the rest of their profession? We rely, in part, on whatever body grants licenses for and monitors that profession.

Investor beware. When our reporter was investigating financial planners for this issue (See "Bargain Financial Advice," on page 29), she turned up a particularly worrisome fact about financial advisers, which you should keep in mind as you read the report and when you seek advice: Not all financial professionals are subject to the same stringent regulations. Advisers, who hold the keys to an increasing number of our economic futures, go by a wide array of soundalike titles, including financial planner, investment adviser, financial adviser, financial consultant, and wealth manager.

There may be huge differences, however. "Broker-dealers"--you may know them as stockbrokers--go by a number of titles. They work mostly for brokerage firms trading stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other financial instruments, and are exempt from the federal Investment Advisers Act of 1940. That act defines the various terms in the investment arena and regulates investment ...