What the experts say

Getting more from an adviser

Given the market’s lackluster returns, financial planners are offering new and sometimes unusual services to keep customers happy and paying, said Kelly Greene and Joe Light in The Wall Street Journal. Some will now “accompany clients while house hunting, line up movers and remodelers, sift through college financial-aid packages,” and even teach adult children how to manage their money. “Clients don’t know to ask,” says financial planner Irvin Schorsch III. “But you should be demanding more.” Schorsch says he often helps clients negotiate the costs of big expenses, from boats to weddings, and recently haggled with a client’s car dealer, knocking $6,100 off the asking price. “Why not take advantage of the free help?” says his client, Wilson Matthews. Of course, not everyone qualifies for such gold-plated service: When it comes to finding a truly helpful planner, “the more assets you have, the better your odds.”

New scrutiny for credit agencies

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The agencies that handle your credit scores will soon have dedicated government supervision for the first time, said Blake Ellis in CNNMoney.com. On Sept. 30, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will begin overseeing the country’s top 30 credit-reporting agencies, including the three biggest ones—Trans-Union, Experian, and Equifax—which hold records on more than 200 million people. The CFPB is empowered to write new rules, monitor how the agencies collect financial data, and conduct on-site examinations of their business practices. The bureau has vowed to focus in particular on consumer complaints that the process for resolving errors in credit reports is cumbersome and ineffective.

Ignoring the headlines

This summer’s financial headlines give me a strong sense of déjà vu, said Mark Hulbert in MarketWatch.com. Twelve months ago, we were all fretting over political paralysis in Washington, the European debt crisis, and a U.S. economy “on the brink of recession.” This summer? The same thing all over again. And yet, “despite it all, the stock market has managed to turn in a modest gain.” It hasn’t soared, of course, but we haven’t seen the end of the world. In fact, “there is surprisingly little historical evidence that past crises like last summer’s have a big and lasting impact on the stock market.” That’s why, when it comes to my portfolio, I take apocalyptic headlines with a grain of salt.