Success Story of the Month: Eliminate Fees!
By David S. Edge
(The details of these stories have been changed to maintain confidentiality)
Rowan and Linda were reviewing their retirement funds when they both got disgusted with their meager earnings and the constant up and down of the market affecting their retirement funds. “Look at all these fees were paying!” exclaimed Linda as she poured through the detailed printouts of their quarterly statements. “They’re anywhere from 2%-5%, and we are paying even if the fund loses money!” she shouted. “Well, there has to be a better way.” he replied back to his wife of 37 years. “We are spending thousands of dollars in fees every year and it doesn’t look like we are getting anywhere!” While they had saved money after putting the kids through college, and had made good use of their 401K contributions at their jobs, they still had to keep an eye on the monthly budget to make sure they didn’t run out of money before they ran out of life. They had recently been to their financial planner who they had for years, but it seemed that all he could recommend was to double down on their current investment vehicles. But the results were just not what the couple wanted them to be. Later that evening they were at a good friend’s house enjoying a game of cards, where the ladies were outscoring the boys. The conversation casually turned to their retirement dilemma. Their friends of many years, Larry and Judy, let them know very quickly that they had no such issues with their retirement funds as they had investment vehicles that were not tied to the stock market and most of them were fee free. This got Linda’s attention very quickly as this was the exact topic she and Rowan had discussed earlier in the day.
Their friends explained that Linda and Rowan were still using an accumulation model which was OK from age 20 to approximately 55 or 60, but that once you get close to retirement you need a preservation and distribution model. Accumulation that takes place over a long period of years is fine, but once you are no longer getting a paycheck, you have no way of replacing lost principal money in your accounts. Judy also advised that Linda and Rowan needed to review how many of their retirement accounts were still exposed to the stock market ups and downs, because almost none of Larry and Judy’s funds were. Larry continued, “What would happen if the stock market has another incident like 2001 or 2008? Can you stand to lose 25-35% of your retirement savings?” As the conversation extended through some dessert, Larry recommended that they make an appointment with their team at American Retirement Advisors to review an alternative plan. Well, it’s been a year since Linda and Rowan have become clients and they could not be happier with the results that were recommended and put into place for them. “No more Fees” stated Linda. “No more losses every time the market has a hiccup” said Rowan at a recent annual review of their plan. Are you tired of excess fees and losses every time the market has an up or down week? Or maybe there was a BREXIT incident somewhere in the world that affected our USA market investments with losses? Let us help you sleep better at night and review what your retirement could be. Remember, at American Retirement Advisors whether you have big or small funds, we’re here to help everyone!” Call us!
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