What Should I Bring to My Meeting with a Financial Advisor?

We created this financial advisor meeting checklist to help you get ready to meet with your advisor. Some of these items may not apply to your particular situation. Simply use this financial advisor checklist of documents to guide you as you prepare. 

As you approach your retirement years, you probably have questions or concerns about how your retirement will look. Creating some certainty by reducing the number of potential surprises can go a long way toward alleviating those concerns.

Here are six things to consider before you retire:

As money scams proliferate, senior citizens are one of the most vulnerable populations. The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau notes a four-fold increase in financial fraud reports in recent years. Suspicious financial activity that involves older Americans totaled $1.7 billion in 2017 alone, the bureau says.

Are you thinking about re-entering the workforce in your 60s? Even after making a carefully considered decision to retire? 

The reality is that you are not alone. An increasing number of baby boomers are shifting gears and reversing their decision to retire.

Consider the following from a New York Times article that compiled survey data on changes in American’s attitudes toward retirement:

• More than 25 percent of retirees later resumed working
• 40 percent of workers over age 65 had previously retired
• The number of people over age 65 who are employed either full-time or part-time has climbed from 12.8 percent in 2000 to 18.8 percent in 2016

Are you and your spouse preparing for retirement? Have you had a candid conversation about what that retirement will really look like? Here are some steps as a retirement planning guide to help you have a productive discussion as a couple. 

Just a few years ago, the terms “fiduciary” and “fiduciary advisor” had little meaning to the general public.

But knowledge of these words spread when the Department of Labor (DOL) issued the fiduciary rule and proposed all ERISA investment accounts be managed as a fiduciary.

The fiduciary rule would have required any advisors who offer retirement advice to act in their clients’ best interest. It had widespread ramifications for brokers and insurance agents who traditionally push self-serving, high-commission products, with little or no regard for the clients' best interest.

Some DIY investors may feel like they are saving money by managing their own investments. But just like with your car, is it smart to be your own mechanic? A lot can go wrong. What might that cost you? And if you found a great mechanic who you trusted, would you ever want to fix your own car again?

From our years of experience, we find many investors who feel they are managing their own portfolios well. But across the board, when we review their portfolios, we find they are missing out for multiple reasons. Here are a few examples:

Successful investing takes patience. There is no Holy Grail or magic, risk-free formula that ensures success and worry-free sleep. In short, investing involves some risk-taking. However, here are six mistakes you can avoid in your investment portfolio. 

The world lost a great man this week with the passing of Arnold Palmer...

We have several connections to the “King” in our firm, not the least of which is our very own Chad Warmbein who had the honor of playing in the Palmer Cup at Latrobe Country Club the past two years. It’s hard to imagine the world without Arnold Palmer; he was such a permanent figure, not only in golf, but as a person and all of the good that he did outside of the game. It is only in Arnie’s style that he would pass on the eve of the Ryder Cup, an event he cherished and is the person who still holds the title of the most match wins at 22. Never one to seek the limelight, he wouldn’t have wanted to disrupt the event.

Many of you from Northeast Ohio area are familiar with “Brady’s Leap,” if only from the eponymous Ohio Turnpike service plaza at mile marker 197. For those of you who are not native to the area or simply need a refresher of this legend, gather round. 

Captain Samuel Brady

Captain Samuel Brady came from a notorious family of American Revolutionary soldiers and fought alongside George Washington with his father and brother. Throughout the Revolution, the Bradys fought in every major battle. By 1778, the Bradys were deployed to man the frontier, then located in Central Pennsylvania as most of the country anywhere West of that was occupied by Indians.