A number of powerhouse financial services industry trade groups have signed on as distributors of AARP’s online training platform to help financial advisors protect older clients from financial exploitation, AARP announced today.
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors have signed on as founding distributors for the free training platform.
“AARP is committed to helping defend older adults against financial exploitation,” AARP BankSafe National Director Jilenne Gunther said. “Working together with the financial services industry, we know this program will help protect millions of older adults from exploitation.”
The training platform is designed to equip financial advisors with the “knowledge, skills and confidence they need to better understand and interact with older clients, identify red flags of financial exploitation and take the right steps prevent exploitation,” AARP said.
First made available to banks and credit unions last year, the training has enabled better protection for nearly 11 million consumers and prevented more than $23 million in exploitation, AARP said.
The trade groups collectively represent more than 300,000 financial advisors and are working with AARP to encourage their members to complete the training, AARP said in a statement.
“We are pleased to be working with AARP to offer BankSafe to our broker-dealer members as they work to help protect their aging client base,” said Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., SIFMA President & CEO.
The training is available at no cost to financial advisors in the United States and combines AARP’s analysis of the needs and desires of older adults with tutorials regarding the access and services offered by the financial industry.
Designed to meet the needs and demands of client-facing staff, the online platform is an interactive, 60-minute tutorial with more than 20 different education and training activities that employees can complete in one sitting or at their own pace.
“Financial advisors are often some of the first people to spot financial exploitation,” NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux said. “We are always looking for new training for our members. The BankSafe training provides them with everything they need to identify potential exploitation and take the right steps to stop it.”
As part of the program, investment firms that train at least 80% of their advisors and confirm that they have a financial-exploitation escalation or reporting policy in place, can apply to use an “AARP BankSafe Trained” seal, recognizing their efforts to fight exploitation.
The seal is not a product or service endorsement, but indicates that an advisor’s front-line employees have been substantially trained in financial exploitation prevention, said AARP which represents 38 million members age 50 and older.
More than 2,000 professionals from the financial industry, trade associations, adult protective service agencies, non-profits, government organizations, regulators and the legal field helped AARP in the development of the training.