A Corrective for Bad Advice

(Bloomberg View) -- Ric Edelman, this week's guest on Masters in Business, wanted to buy a house in the 1980s. When he and his wife went to a financial planner, they were aghast at the terrible advice they received, including being told to lie on a mortgage application. Outraged by the experience, they sought to become more financially knowledgeable on their own. Eventually, they started sharing what they learned.

SoundCloud: Ric Edelman on Translating Financial Language for Consumers by Bloomberg View

Thus was born Edelman Financial Services LLC, which now manages $21 billion in assets.

Edelman tells of starting his radio program to help fix the widespread financial illiteracy he sees rampant throughout America. It has since become the longest-running personal finance show on radio.

Edelman was ranked the nation's No. 1 independent financial adviser three times by Barron's and named one of the country's top 10 wealth advisers by Forbes magazine in 2016. His latest books are “The Truth About Your Future” and “The Truth About Money.”

You can stream/download the full conversation, including the podcast extras, on Bloomberg, iTunes, Overcast and Soundcloud. Our earlier podcasts can all be found on iTunes, Soundcloud, Overcast and Bloomberg.

Next week, we speak with technology entrepreneur, activist and writer Anil Dash, chief executive officer of Fog Creek Software.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Barry Ritholtz is a Bloomberg View columnist. He founded Ritholtz Wealth Management and was chief executive and director of equity research at FusionIQ, a quantitative research firm. He blogs at the Big Picture and is the author of “Bailout Nation: How Greed and Easy Money Corrupted Wall Street and Shook the World Economy.”

To contact the author of this story: Barry Ritholtz at britholtz3@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Greiff at jgreiff@bloomberg.net.

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