Broker, Be Gone

Wealthy Americans are firing theirbrokers, according to a survey by theChicago-based Spectrem Group. Concernsabout whether advice from brokersis biased have sent many of the rich toother financial gurus. Among those withat least $5 million in investable assets,only 30% use a full-service broker, downfrom 41% in 2001. Although brokers arestill the favorite source of financial advice,15% of those surveyed say they use aninvestment advisor, up from 8% in 2001,and 14% use an investment manager,compared to 7% in 2001. The surveyalso showed that just over 1 of 5 wealthyAmericans fly solo, without any financialadvice, mostly because they think they aremore knowledgeable about financial marketsthan any professional advisor.