Should you listen to the financial experts? We see enough of them every day being paraded above the ticker tapes of CNBC, opining on their latest investment picks.

Fox Business News will soon be breathing down their necks and ours with their own group of experts. Labelling themselves as a different kind of finance channel, Fox finance is supposed to be more attuned to the average small investor. The people — that is, with the implicit message is the CNBC crowd is preaching to elitist Wall Street types.

Is there really a value to these shows other than entertainment and quite possibly, education for those with time to watch? Analysts will often say that by the time opinions and hints hit the large screen, capital markets have already priced in any impetuous rally.

Everyone has an agenda, experts possibly more. We like to feel (and money is about emotion) that everyone we chose to work with operates with the purest of intentions. In the investment industry — not a chance!

Just about everyone in almost every interaction in our daily lives, operates with an agenda — sometimes we don't even know it. It could be claimed that there is an exception when we have our moments with our Higher Power. I beg to differ — even there, we have an agenda to save our immortal souls for eternity. Are we baseless creatures? Of course not, but we overwhelmingly have an inborn instinct for survival that puts our interests, whatever they are, first.

Experts are featured on shows, in print, and multi-media because they must constantly market and burnish their image. It is all about branding and if you aren't visible, your expertise is forgotten.

Why do you think luminaries and visionaries so carefully orchestrate their media exposure? They want to be noticed, on a consistent long-term basis. We, the public are fickle, easy to lure to the new expert launching his/her agenda.

The second motivation to become a visible expert is to sell something, be it a product, a service, or even an ethical humanitarian fund drive.

Taking the words of an expert under advisement is like eating Swiss cheese. You know the holes are there and that they make the cheese taste great. You are just not sure whether taking the holes out will make a difference to your ham and cheese sandwich.

A concerned client call me a while back, terribly concerned because the headlines in the paper stated boldly that it was a terrible time to buy bonds. She wanted to know why she was invested in them and shouldn't we be selling?

What the expert failed to explain was that for those in the business of buying and selling bonds on a daily basis, this was not a great environment for profit taking. This client's personal portfolio was appropriately structured for her financial needs. Certainly, she was never going to be bond market trader.

What was our comment? Please ignore what these experts are saying — they know absolutely nothing about your individual financial position.

Almost 400,000 people watch Mad Money every evening. His advice now appears to have the power to move markets. Is that a good or a bad thing? It certainly depends upon which blog you read.

Some market watchers short every position he recommends, while others swear that he has made them rich. Washington Post media writer Howard Kurtz, who profiled Cramer in his book The Fortune Tellers, says: "Jim Cramer's Mad Money show occupies some sort of netherworld between sheer entertainment and useful financial advice."

Investors are often seen as three types: sheep, wolves, or guard dogs of their money. When the media message overwhelms logical thinking, we all have a tendency to follow the herd. It is certainly better to adopt a guard dog mentality about your money and by letting your common sense and intuition prevail, you will not fall victim to investment industry wolves always waiting to take advantage of emotional financial decisions. On occasion, even the subject matter that you read here, will not be relevant to your personal situation.

Trust, it always comes down to trust, doesn't it? When contemplating investment decisions, get a second, or third opinion from someone you trust who understands your own situation. Credibility trust is paramount, but has less value if the person is not competent, ethical or qualified to provide financial advice appropriate for you.

Lastly, even experts don't know everything.