Moneysmarts Jargonator

By Moneysmartz on Tue, May 6, 2008, 8:37 PM | Link

Archived Under: Financial Services , The Moneysherpa Pages
Tags: Financial Services, The Moneysherpa Pages

A recent survey by AARP Financial MoneySmarts found that Americans confusion about financial jargon leads to mistakes and lost opportunities. If you have slogged or searched your way through the mass of financial services information on the Web, or even talked with a financial adviser steeped in technical terminology, then the study results are not a surprise and are not necessarily that helpful. However, the AARP Financial microsite offers a solution, an easy-to-use tool to convert financial jargon into plain language. In case you were wondering, MoneySmarts is not related to or affiliated with Moneysmartz.

JD Power

By Moneysmartz on Tue, April 29, 2008, 5:34 AM | Link

Archived Under: Financial Services , New and Notable
Tags: Best of Sites, Financial Services, JD Power, New and Notable

J.D. Power and Associates is synonymous with automobile ratings, but you may not know that J.D. Power rates financial services, including insurance, credit cards, and more at its consumer site JDPower.com.

Started 40 years ago, J.D. Power and Associates conducts customer satisfaction, product quality and buyer behavior surveys.

As you evaluate financial services, JDPower.com's ratings offer an important point of reference in your buying decision. Financial services rated by J.D. Power include:

• Banks and Credit Cards, Home Financing, and Investment.
• Car, Health, and Home Insurance.
• Home Related Services including Homeowners Insurance and Moving Services.

Like Epinion's consumer ratings, time with J.D. Power before you buy will help you avoid a headache or two down the road.

Epinions and Better Financial Services

By Moneysmartz on Wed, April 23, 2008, 6:25 AM | Link

Archived Under: Financial Services , The Moneysherpa Pages
Tags: Epinions, Financial Services, The Moneysherpa Pages

The worst time to realize a provider of financial services does not care is when you need their help the most. If you have ever been treated like a number by a testy customer service agent or been caught in the endless loop of a convoluted interactive voice response system, then you know how important it is to choose wisely when looking for financial services like credit cards, banks, and brokers.

Epinions, started in 1999 and now owned by eBay, offers user generated reviews about a wide range of products and services to help you avoid poor customer service and get the facts before, not after, you buy.

The following tips should help you get the insight you need from Epinions:

• Visit the Personal Finance find and compare home page.
• Choose the category the fits your need, for example, banks.
• Enter the name of your prospective bank in the search box at the top of the page, for example, Wells Fargo.
• Sort by date to read the most recent reviews first.
• Be wary of firms with a few reviews as the sample may be too small to provide reliable guidance.
• If you find bad reviews, then be sure to balance them with the positive attributes of the reviewed company that are most important to you. However, remember that this is the best time to find another provider of services, before you make a long term commitment

A little research using Epinions today will help you avoid big headaches in the future.

Best of Class Financial Services Customer Service

By Moneysmartz on Sun, April 6, 2008, 7:25 AM | Link

Archived Under: Banking Services , Financial Services , Insurance , Investing , The Moneysherpa Pages
Tags: Banking Services, BusinessWeek, Financial Services, Insurance, Investing, The Moneysherpa Pages

If you have ever been at the receiving end of a surly customer service agent, then you know the value of great customer service. The following insurance, banking, and brokerage firms are included in the top 50 of The BusinessWeek 2008 Customer Service Elite:

1. USAA (Insurance)

8. Edward Jones (Brokerage)

13. Amica (Insurance)

18. Wachovia (Banking)

19. Smith Barney (Brokerage)

28. Vanguard (Brokerage)

29. Erie Insurance (Insurance)

30. National City (Banking)

Finding a Local Bank

By Moneysmartz on Thu, September 28, 2006, 8:36 AM Discuss (0) | Link

Archived Under: Banking Services , Business Ownership , Financial Services , Local Financial Services , The Moneysherpa Pages
Tags: Banking and Credit, Banking Services, Business Ownership, FDIC, Financial Services, Local Banking Services, Moneysmartz Editor, The Moneysherpa Pages

For many of us, finding a local bank consists of locating nearby branches, surfing banking websites, and maybe visiting bank branch offices. For businesses, the task may be more complicated, based on existing relationships or referrals.

In the case of both business and personal banking, we often neglect researching bank assets, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) certification, and the number of branches in our locale.

To answer all of these questions, and more, The FDIC offers a directory of FDIC certified institutions, with information about total assets, specialized categories, and branch offices. For personal and business banking, this resource is particularly helpful if you are looking at a smaller regional bank and have concerns about long-term solvency, the number of branch offices, or certification. At the minimum, the FDIC directory is worth a few minutes before beginning what may be a very long-term relationship.

For a list of primarily national banks, visit the Banking Services category in the Moneysmartz Directory.