A few weeks ago I blogged about Fidelity's new pitchman, Paul McCartney, and how he was chosen for his appeal to the baby boomer generation, the people born between 1946 and 1964.

Other financial services companies are going by the same playbook. In a subway station two days ago I saw an Ameriprise ad pitching financial services to the same demographic group, using a lot of the nostalgic visual symbols that are supposed to appeal to boomers: peace symbols, 60s and 70s clothing and hairstyles, an old yearbook photo of a man from the early 60s, and even some icons from the early 80s, punk rockers, intended to appeal to the youngest segment of the boomers. Ameriprise (not to be confused with Ameriquest) used to be American Express Financial Advisors.

But don't let feel-good symbols lure you into doing business with any company. Doing upfront research about a company can tell you a lot about the aims of the company, its services, as well as potential problems. mortgage calculator