Should Your Financial Advisor Be in Jail? (The Motley Fool)

Prosecutors claimed insurance agent Glenn Neasham took advantage of an 83-year-old client with early-stage dementia to sell her an indexed annuity. A client with early-stage dementia is one thing, but based on the level of complexity, is such a product appropriate to sell to the mass market? A 2009 FINRA survey found 29% of those with mortgages on their homes didn’t know if the mortgage was interest-only or had an interest-only option, 53% of those with an auto loan said they didn’t compare offers with different lenders, and 26% of investors with self-directed retirement plans didn’t know whether they have more or less than half of their account in equity products. With so many Americans ill-equipped to make regular financial decisions, could someone without early-stage dementia even understand the details of an indexed annuity?