Happy New Year! So, are you or your broker a genius? Did your investment portfolio do absolutely fantastic for year end? Brokers and portfolio man- agers tend to think that they are geniuses when portfolios perform well. But when they don’t perform well, they blame the market, or the White House, or world events. The true test of a good manager is how they perform in down markets. Mutual fund managers that manage, in large part, your assets inside of your 401(k)s and your IRAs are focused on asset accumulation and beating the markets and their peers.

Ok, if I’m in my growth stage of life, or as we say, the Go-Go stage, that’s probably not an issue for us. But, if we are in our slow-go (about to retire) or no-go, stage of life (retired), we can’t afford to have that aggressive outlook. We can’t afford to lose our nest egg shooting for monster returns or being with an advisor or portfolio manager who’s trying to be a superstar. We need an advisor and portfolio manager who understands the specific needs of a senior client. We need someone who specializes in helping retired or soon-to-be-retired folks. So, if you’ve done well, great. Now, let’s keep what we have, make a reason- able rate of return, and live a stress-free financial life. It may be time to change your retail broker to a retire- ment income specialist. Please call us for a no-charge, no-obligation planning meeting. Let’s start the new year with a financial plan that gives us a warm cozy feeling this winter.