Quote:
Originally Posted by SallyB
Thank you for responding. I don't it is fair to blame a person who seeks help from a broker/financial advisor not everyone understands the market and need help from someone who is supposed to be trusted. By what you are saying we should not ever look for help in matters we don't understand. Don't we all seek help from a professional on matters we don't understand plumbers, electricians, lawyer and so on.
This is not 100% on my parent's fault, yes they should have not been so trusting.
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It goes on everywhere, and the Villages is of course a prime target. You are quite right to point out how many intelligent, hard working people have NO idea how to manage their savings in retirement, though they have been very successful savers during their working years. I was not in a financial career, but had an early interest in how it all worked, investing, stocks, funds, active vrs. passive management, all of it, so I felt well prepared to manage in retirement. But you are correct, most people do not go into retirement with a great deal of knowledge of what they should do, and to make matters worse, the statistics show 65% of retirees do NOT stay in their area where they have life long trusted people around them, a "home town" banker who has always been there with sound advice. So they become easy targets for the nice "free" dinners at a desirable restaurant or country club... you'll see few of these "investment advice" dinners at the Waffle House.. not that I don't consider the Waffle House "desirable", I do, was just there THIS MORNING. But point being, I am surrounded by neighbors who admit they have no clue how to manage retirement nest eggs, yet were well educated professionals in their own field. So of course they TURN to a "professional" manager... and as Jimmy Buffet said, all the sharks in Florida are definitely NOT in the ocean ! No, your parents are far from the only seniors who have no idea of these shark infested waters. If you only knew the training some of these "advisors/sales persons" go through... many seniors don't have a chance, they are told exactly what they need to hear about "safety" of their money.