Qualification on advice

BY MARY HOLM

Q. I read your column on Saturday.

One of the letters said something along the lines of "on the basis of advice presented in your column I bought X and sold Y ... "

I was surprised you printed this without some sort of caveat that advice presented is of a general nature and does not specifically guarantee future returns etc etc.


A. Your letter certainly got me thinking.

I've always assumed that nobody would make a major financial move based solely on what they read in a newspaper article.

I don't know enough detail about anyone who writes to me - let alone other readers - to be 100 per cent sure they should do what I suggest.

The idea is to steer people in the right direction. Then they can gather more information before taking action.

Nevertheless, could I be dragged into court, charged with steering someone in the wrong direction?

Tim MacAvoy of KPMG Legal, who specialises in financial services law, thinks this is unlikely.

"It would, however, be sensible to confirm to readers that your advice is of a general nature, and that you are not responsible for any loss which any reader may suffer from following your advice," says MacAvoy.

Done.

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