Oregon Regulators To Crack Down On Self-Titled "Specialists" & "Advisers" Having Little Or No Professional Training

In Portland, Oregon, The Oregonian reports:

• State regulators are trying to clamp down on the use of misleading financial services and insurance credentials that they say leave seniors vulnerable to abuse and fraud. The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services is proposing new rules that would ban the use of "specialist," "adviser" or similar titles by salespeople who lack legitimate professional training. Salespeople could face fines as much as $20,000 for using designations that aren't backed by organizations with stringent requirements.

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• "People call themselves all kinds of things they really aren't," said Kevin Anselm, head of enforcement at the department's Division of Finance and Corporate Securities. "It's been more of a problem on the insurance side than the securities side." Among the troubling designations: special senior adviser, real estate specialist and foreclosure specialist.

For more, see Oregon regulators take aim at financial services designations (if link expires, try here). FinancialAbuseOfElderlyAlpha