Investors, beware of the free-lunch seminar

This article is the archived version of a report that appeared in July 2009 Consumer Reports magazine.

Pseudo-educational investor luncheons are a popular way for financial salespeople to fish for customers. Your hosts might not be out to steal your savings, but you can be pretty sure there's at least a commission in it for them if you buy what they're selling. What's more, the financial products they push are probably overpriced, inappropriate for your needs, or worse.And the lunch might not be that good, either.

If you need financial advice, paying for it is almost always a better bargain. You can get referrals to fee-only financial planners, the kind who charge for advice but aren't paid commissions on the products they sell, from the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, at www.napfa.org.