Ratings, profiles, disclosure statements said to help investors pick more suitable advisors. Information service company Paladin Registry has launched a free-of-charge advisor rating service for private investors. The Paladin Registry contains ratings, profiles, and disclosure statements for nearly 400 planners, advisors, and managers who are responsible for a total of $23 billion of investor assets. Paladin says it's adding new advisors to its registry at a rate of about 25 a week.

Paladin's founder Jack Waymire says the registry is for investors who are looking for ways around what he calls a "dysfunctional selection process" for advisors that results in "millions of investors [firing] and [hiring] new advisors every few years."

The problem is that "financial advisors don't provide track records the way money managers do, so the only reliable method for determining their competence and integrity is credentials," according to Waymire. And that puts investors at the mercy of competing advisors" sales skills. Most investors listen to a few sales presentations and then pick the advisor who sounds best. "Consequently, they [are] prone to pick the advisor with the best sales skills versus the real experts," says Waymire.

Paladin claims to have solved that problem by giving investors "fast, easy and efficient" online access to "independent, objective documentation to view professional credentials and ratings that validate [advisors'] competency and integrity." Investors can use the service by visiting Paladin online and - without having to register - using one Paladin's threesearch engines to find advisors in their area. The registry also lets investors initiate the contact with advisors and protects their privacy until they chose to identify themselves.

"We have replaced a dysfunctional process with an objective, structured service that substantially reduces investor risk of selecting the wrong advisor," says Waymire.

Paladin says its analysts screen all of the advisors listed in its registry for competence, integrity, "and other characteristics that impact the quality and reliability of their services." Only professionals with three-, four-, and five-star ratings are listed. More than 65% of the advisors have advanced degrees or multiple professional certifications, and more than 90% acknowledge their fiduciary status. All are registered investment advisors. Less than 10% of thefinancial professionals Paladinreviews make it into its advisor registry.

Roseville, Calif.-based Paladin Registry describes itself as "an independent, objective third party with no financial interest in the decisions of investors," and adds that "no financial services company or advisor has an equity stake in Paladin." --FWR