Fake News: Not Likely in Financial Services
Andrew Corn, CEO, E5A Integrated Marketing
I am a former portfolio manager and ETF designer, now running an agency. We work across many industries. Because of my top quartile track record as a portfolio manager, we work with many investment companies, brokers, investment banks, real estate, private equity firms…you get the picture. We also work with public companies, firms seeking to list or uplist, and now firms using Reg A+ while staying private or going public.
We do not encounter fake, deceitful or intentionally misleading marketing, education or promotions. At E5A, we have a culture of doing what is best for our client’s target audience: showing off their intellect, being clever to educate or making a significant point and being straightforward to really underscore a point. Our clients appreciate our work and sense of fairness, but frankly, we don’t run into firms that institutionally want to deceive.
Perhaps it’s because we self-select our clients?
Our process for financial works, providing us the luxury of regularly turning away businesses that don’t fit our model. I think it is more than self-selection. FINRA is a regulator funded by the industry itself. Sure they have missed big—just look at Madoff. But by and large the industry, including marketing, compliance, outside legal and the regulators, is seeking to do what is right, and frankly, even leaning a tad bit to the conservative side.
We have also worked with over 1,000 firms that are public, that have gone public, or that are going public, and again, there is an educational process for what can be said and how. But all in all, I have not encountered ”bad actors” seeking to defraud investors. Yes, as a subcontractor many years ago, I did some work for Enron. But I can count the intentionally bad firms on one hand over my career.
It’s nice to know with all the politics out there that I can escape to work where the vast majority of people are doing the right thing.
Sure, industry critics may blast me for this post, but those of us doing this a long time know, the overarching culture is doing the right thing, not fake news.
[author]About the Author: Andrew Corn is CEO of E5A Integrated Marketing, headquartered in NYC offering assistance in asset gathering, capital raising, revenue acceleration, and public company packaging. Andrew heads strategy consulting including distribution. He is a former equity portfolio manager, ETF designer, public company chief marketing officer, agency CEO and fintech entrepreneur. E5A specializes in helping managers gain AUM and also works extensively in equity crowdfunding and other capital raising efforts. For more information go to: https://e5aintegratedmarket