Inspect What You Expect: Avoiding Mistakes with Your Retirement Plan

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9.6.24: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Speaker1:
Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only, and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment, and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.

Speaker2:
Welcome to Retirement Results, the national radio show and podcast for listeners like you who want to protect and grow their hard earned money. In a world filled with so much uncertainty and financial risk, we seek to cut through the noise and build successful plans for hard working Americans on their road to financial freedom. Retirement results is powered by Active Wealth Management, a team of fiduciary advisors who always place your needs first and now your host. He's a registered social security analyst, member of the Forbes Finance Council, and author of multiple books on retirement planning. Here's your chief financial adviser, Ford Stokes.

Speaker3:
And welcome to retirement results result drivers. I'm Ford stokes, your chief financial advisor. Got Sam Davis here with us. Our financial advisor and co-host here on retirement results. Sam, say hello to everybody.

Speaker4:
Welcome to the weekend result drivers. And welcome back to retirement results. Ford I'm so happy to be back on the show this weekend on our stations here in Atlanta and all across the United States, helping people understand their money better than ever before. Yeah.

Speaker3:
Shout out to all our listeners, long time listeners on Am 920, the answer here in Atlanta. And also just shout out to everybody who listens to us on the John Fredericks Radio Network. You know who you are, you great American patriots that are there in Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, new Jersey, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Georgia, um, just the list goes on and on and on. We really appreciate each and every one of you. Those folks are in the new England states, with Connecticut and New Hampshire and and even parts of Massachusetts. All the people that listen to us also on our podcast at retirement results. Com that's retirement results. Com and also wherever you get podcasts, whether that's Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, etc. go ahead and and listen to us. Make sure you subscribe. We appreciate it. We've had over 14,000 downloads, um, over the past several months here on retirement results. We appreciate everybody listening to us. And again, just thanks for making us the number one listened to show on Am 920 the answer in Atlanta. And then also as we continue to grow, um, we're right behind Godzilla wins, I think on the weekends. And shout out to John Frederickson and everybody that contributes to that Godzilla Wins show. That's great. And also, we just appreciate John putting us on the truck and the truth bus.

Speaker3:
And that's fantastic. We're super excited to contribute to being a part of that. Uh, he's going to focus primarily on Pennsylvania and Georgia between now and the election if we win Pennsylvania and Georgia. Uh, American Patriots, it's over. And Donald Trump will be your 47th president of the United States. And we will hopefully stamp out communism. That would be really helpful if we can get that done. So make sure you get out and vote, especially in those two states in Pennsylvania and in Georgia. I will also give you an example where we're walking the walk. Sam. So my girls are turning 18 years old on October 18th. I've got twin girls who are 17, about to be 18 years old, and they're going to turn 18 before the election, and we are getting them registered to vote. And they are planning on voting for Donald J. Trump. Uh, they feel like a lot of the liberals that are in their school are much, very much complainers. And they don't understand why these people complain so much. They're not very happy and they like being conservative. So I thought that was a good perspective from folks that are in that Gen Z, um, age group which think they're saying.

Speaker5:
Well, just really.

Speaker4:
Proud of them for, you know, getting across that 18 year finish line just in the nick of time for the election. And also just to be, you know, so passionate to go out there and have their plan in place to vote. Because whether you're 18 or 118, you get to go out there and cast your vote and make sure your voice is heard. It's really setting up to be a fantastic fall within election. It's hard to believe it's been only it's already been four years since the 2020 election, but it's here. We're starting to see just a few leaves fall outside my house. Ford and I feel like soon Summer will be in the rear view mirror and college football will be well underway, and we'll have an election with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris and a lot of other important local races, too. I would say to anybody out there listening, make sure you have a plan to vote. Make sure you know who you're voting for and what's going on in your local community, because those issues matter as well.

Speaker3:
Yeah, let's try to vote Republicans all the way down the ballot if we can. Um, also, just the reason I'm mentioning my girls getting registered to vote right after their 18th birthday. I wanted just to at least mention this. You got to do everything you can to get folks out to the polls. If you've got grandparents, great grandparents, it's time to get them out to the polls. If you've got kids and grandkids that are of age that are over 18 years old, make sure they get them registered to vote and get them out to vote in November. Uh, hopefully that's going to happen and that'll be the case. Uh, but just make sure that you've got a plan to vote and you've got a plan for your family members and your friends and close acquaintances to vote and get them out to help vote and hopefully vote for Donald J. Trump and all the Republicans all the way down the ballot. Because quite frankly, your retirement depends on it. Our economy depends on it. The free world depends on it. We cannot Not afford to slide any further back towards socialism and communism. I just, you know, it's all about theft, I will tell you. I just feel like the people that are going into office that are on the on the liberal side, they are trying to just steal from people that have worked really hard. They've taken all the risk. Kamala Harris wants to implement a 44% capital gains tax.

Speaker3:
That's extreme risk. And we're at $35.283 trillion in US national debt, according to US debt clock. That's a big deal. I think we got to get we got to get more fiscally conservative. And I love the fact that Donald J. Trump is looking to place Elon Elon Musk in charge of government efficiency in a in an actual task force on government efficiency. That would really trim the fat for sure. So please, please, please vote for the Republican Party and Donald J. Trump at the top of the ticket for the 2024 For US presidential election in November. All right, so, Sam, you've got on today's show, what we're going to do is we're going to you've got a great financial wisdom quote of the week that we're going to cover from a very smart man. And then some people think he's actually the smartest man to ever live. Then we're also going to the title of the show is inspect would you expect and how to reduce fees and minimize risk within your portfolio for your retirement? We want to get you positive retirement results, want to make sure you have a successful retirement. And what we're asking you to do is to reach out to us at retirement results.com/plan. That's retirement results.com/plan. We appreciate um Elizabeth calling us. We appreciate um Jack calling us as well. Um, a couple single folks there. Uh, we also appreciate, um, Jerry giving us a call, um, and trying to get his annuity analyzed and trying to get that replaced.

Speaker3:
Really appreciate, Jerry giving us a call this past week. Um, we've got a lot of other people that have reached out to appreciate Miss Sylvia reaching out to us, too. It's another single lady. Um, based in Atlanta, Georgia. But we're also really happy to hear from folks in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and different parts of of West Virginia and Charleston, West Virginia, as well. And we're just super excited also to hear from folks in some of our new affiliates with Nashville and Memphis. So thank you so much for reaching out to us. I encourage you, if you want to get your free financial plan and portfolio analysis all the way to your 95th birthday, the financial plans, your 95th birthday, we're gonna give you a Social Security maximization report. We're going to give you a financial plan of your 95th birthday, and we're going to give you a full portfolio analysis at no cost to you. It's a $1,500 value. So that way you can understand the risk you're taking the fees you're you're paying. And then also the correlation of your assets. And what's the success going to look like in an actual percentage from 0 to 100? We give you an actual grade of your retirement plan as it currently stands, and we give you one with our recommended portfolios. We're also proud to contribute to the Forbes Finance Council and be contributors, and also being host of the retirement results show right here on the John Fredericks Radio Network.

Speaker3:
Sam, you and I are now in eight states and over 20 stations. It has grown like crazy since we started this five years ago. I'm super proud to be on this show with you, Sam. It's fantastic. Um, our television show has continued to take off. We we got a great phone call, um, from a gentleman named Thomas who was looking for information on multi year guaranteed annuities versus bank CDs. And, Thomas, your your wish is our command. We're going to cover that in segment three today. And uh Sam's going to go through that also. Sam. Great job on the interview with John Fredericks. You covered some of this that we're going to cover today. Um, I just want to make sure that we really make sure that everybody hears the great information about how to become more efficient with your portfolio, how to reduce risks and reduce fees, and also how to beat those bank CDs. And we're going to cover that here over the next couple of segments. And we've got about 90s left in segment one. Let's go ahead and share the financial wisdom quote of the week. And then we're going to be right back talking about how you can inspect what you expect with your own retirement, how to reduce fees and minimize risk. On this week's retirement Results radio show.

Speaker6:
And now for some financial wisdom, it's time for the quote of the week.

Speaker4:
This week's quote of the week comes to us from Albert Einstein, a very brilliant mind and an instrumental figure for the Allied forces during World War Two. And Albert Einstein once said compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it earns it. He who doesn't pays it. And compound interest is something we like to talk a lot about on this show. Interest rates is something that we're getting a lot of questions about right now, actually. And so I think this is a great quote for this week.

Speaker3:
When we come back from the break, we're going to have a note from John Williams at Shadowstats talking about what the real rate of inflation is and what is going on with systematic liquidity in the markets and what's going on with the US banks. And also, we're going to talk about how to not make these mistakes when preparing for retirement. But specifically we're going to talk about how to get more tax efficient, more fee efficient and more market efficient with your portfolio. Come right back right here on the John Fredericks Radio Network and Am 920. The answer this is retirement results Retirement results.

Speaker2:
We'll be right back to learn more and schedule your complimentary retirement consultation, visit retirement Results.com.

I was talking with a friend of mine, said a woman that heard us.

Speaker2:
You're listening to retirement results. And now back to the show.

Speaker3:
And welcome back to retirement results. I'm Ford Stokes, your chief financial advisor. I've got Sam Davis here with us, our senior financial advisor and co-host on retirement results. Sam, we've got a note from John Williams at Shadowstats.com. And if you want more information about the real rate of inflation and what's going on out there, I'd encourage you to go ahead and reach out and type in Shadowstats.com into your browser and check out the great content from John Williams. He's been an economist for over 50 years. We're big fans of John. He's actually out of California. He doesn't really ascribe to one side of the aisle or the other, but the information is kind of irrefutable these days that the real rate of inflation is significant. Go ahead and read that. Really interesting update from John Williams of Shadowstats.com. Sam.

Speaker4:
Yeah, we love John. We've had him on the show before. I'm just really impressed with what he's done. Somebody who's been working in economics for more than five decades. Just so impressive. And here's a note from his recent newsletter on Shadowstats.com, John Williams said the fed is now strongly hinting at a minimal rate cut, which would be an economic plus. The US central bank still has to rein in its 57 year peak in systematic liquidity if it is serious about taming inflation. John Williams says the inflation problem is due to the combined and related excessive money creation and unfettered federal debt growth. It is not due to an overheating economy, and Williams says there has not been any quote, overheating economy either in the pandemic or post post pandemic period to date. So this is interesting for what he's saying, is that money creation is one of the leading factors in our inflation problem that we're experiencing.

Speaker3:
Well, it's just like what Milton Friedman said is that inflation is a tax you don't vote for. And also inflation comes from only one place in the United States, and that is Washington, D.C. we're spending too much money where we have unfettered federal debt growth, and they need to rein it in. And the best way to rein this in is to vote for Donald J. Trump in November, because you're going to get Elon Musk in charge of a federal efficiency task force. And that's going to change the game, folks. That is going to change the game. And all this pork barrel legislation and all this fraud and all these things that these politicians have taken advantage of for decades and decades. And also where, you know, the liberal communists and socialists, they've they've wanted to lay us down with debt. That's part of the strategy for the communists to take over, because therefore they can claim that capitalism doesn't really work. It absolutely does work. And communism has never worked. And we've got to vote for Donald J. Trump and get him into the white House in November. So Sam, let's that's a great update from John. And I agree with him 1,000%. They've got to rein in spending. And they also have to stop creating more money. And you know I can't run out and go create more money in my checking account when my checking account is Overdrafted guess what? I can't write checks and cash them. So I'm just telling you the US government needs to start operating the same way we do with our own households. Sam, go. Go ahead and read the mistakes when preparing for retirement. And this is according to Yahoo Finance.

Speaker4:
Yeah, we took some of this article from an economic report published by Yahoo Finance. And for this really gets to the heart of what we do each and every week when we're working with pre-retirees retirees, whether they be existing clients or people who are just coming to us for the first time, like maybe some of you listening who could use some of our help, and we want to help you avoid some of these common mistakes. And the first one on this list Ford is putting off saving for retirement. Americans are in trouble when it comes to saving for retirement. Millions of older workers are approaching retirement with nothing saved. But we kind of want to encourage everybody out there that it's not too late, especially if you're somebody who's a good wage earner, own your own business. There's still some things you can do, especially if you're over 50. You can take advantage of catch up contributions. But regardless, the most important thing is get started and improve your retirement plan today.

Speaker3:
Yes, Warren Buffett says, you know, the first thing to do when you're in a hole is to stop digging. So let's start saving right now. Also, Thomas Jefferson said, I said this almost on every show. He said that the best The best time to save money is when you have it. So let's start saving the first 15 to 20%. Let's pay us our first 15 to $0.20 on every dollar that we make, and then start trying to live on the rest. I think that's a really great way to to live and operate. And by the way, there's five of these that we're going to go through. We kind of pulled out the the top five from this article from Yahoo Finance. Uh, Sam, go ahead and go to number two. But number one was putting off saving for retirement. Let's just get started right away.

Speaker4:
Yeah. Putting up not, you know, putting off saving for retirement. I think it just comes down to make sure you're living on less than you make. And as someone who comes from multiple generations of farmers, we definitely appreciate that value. And the next one as well. Uh, not building an emergency fund. That is a big mistake. You want to make sure you have enough cash available to take care of emergencies. You know, regardless of what you do for a living. You know, not all harvests are as good as the year before. And so you want to make sure that, you know, if there's a rainy day, you're going to have that cash when you need it.

Speaker3:
Amen. I what I can't believe is that most Americans are unable to cover $1,000 worth of surprise expenses. That is really frightening. That's why we're covering this today. Try to do everything you can to just. Let's look at getting a six month fund. So if your expenses are 3000 a month, let's have $18,000 in the bank and savings somewhere that you can use. It's not that difficult. Let's let's start saving for that six month fund first and then start paying everything else off and really get it where you've got some peace of mind. And also you're going to live longer. So that's number two. Not building an emergency fund is another mistake to avoid. What's number three, Sam?

Speaker4:
Yeah. The next thing you want to avoid is selling investments. When you're seeing some stock market volatility. When those markets swing sometimes you get a little scared. You want to sell off some of those assets to avoid losing further money. But when you sell off an asset that's depreciated, you lock in that loss and you miss out on the opportunity for it to go back up. So actually, if you find yourself in the middle of a market downturn, you should be kind of looking at it on the bright side, saying, hey, some of these assets that I still believe in, that I still want to invest in for my retirement, they're on sale right now, so maybe now's a good time to go back in. So kind of thinking away from the herd mentality on this one, Ford. But we don't want people to sell investments when those markets are swinging. Yeah.

Speaker3:
You want to stay invested because you don't want to also sell at a discount, because if the market's going down and you want to sell your stocks, guess what? You're going to be selling at an even lower price because you have to sell it at a discount to get somebody interested to buy your stock. Right. So just be very careful about selling, especially when the market is in a downturn. I'll give you an example. Just last month there was the Kamala crash where, you know, we had the largest dip in the S&P and the Nasdaq since 2022. And then it's, for the most part, recovered. For those folks who freaked out and sold out, they missed the rebound. Please, please, please be very careful and not be overly emotional, especially if you're sitting in your IRA funds where you know long the long game is really in play here, and slow and steady wins the race. Just be very careful about selling when markets are in a downturn mode. Now what's number four on our list here, Sam, of the mistakes that we're trying to avoid when preparing for retirement. Yeah.

Speaker4:
Here's the next mistake we want all of you listening to avoid. And that's staying in cash. We find that a lot of people are stashing their earnings in a checking account or a savings account with their bank, or even sometimes keeping a little bit too much cash far beyond what's necessary at home. So we would encourage you to open your mind, make your cash work harder by investing some of it. Remember, you know from just a couple mistakes ago you want to have that emergency fund, but having cash in your bank account, beyond that, you're really just kind of have a melting ice cube there because you're not earning any interest. You're likely losing buying power due to inflation. So don't look at cash as an investment or a safe place to stash your money. There are better options for that. Yeah.

Speaker3:
No question. We can also put you in a multi year guaranteed annuity. We're going to cover that in segment three. We also can put you in a brokerage CD that's paying more than a bank CD. And many times they're still SIPC insured. And even some are still even FDIC insured because they're issued by banks and investment banks. If you've got questions about that, I would encourage you to go and reach out to us at 1-888-814-0304. That's 1-888-814-0304 or reach out to us at retirement results.com. And we're going to have the last mistake you want to avoid when preparing for retirement when we come back from the break. You're listening to retirement results right here on Am 920. The answer and the John Fredericks Radio Network.

Speaker2:
Schedule your free, no obligation consultation now by calling toll free at (888) 814-0304.

Just a small town girl living in a lonely world. She took the midnight train going.

Speaker1:
Do you want a steady stream of income for retirement? Then it's time to consider annuities. I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement Radio Network, powered by Amira Life. Gone are the days when most employers offered pensions with guaranteed lifetime payouts to their workers. But what if I told you that you can build your own personal pension? It's possible with an annuity. An annuity is a financial product that provides a series of regular payments to an individual over a specified period of time, often for the rest of their life.

Speaker3:
There are several options for you to consider when choosing an annuity. Be confident in knowing that there is an annuity out there that can meet all of your needs.

Speaker1:
Ford Stokes is founder and president of Active Wealth Management and author of the book annuity 360. There are several different types of annuities, including fixed, variable, and fixed indexed.

Speaker3:
A fixed annuity offers a specific guaranteed interest rate on their contributions to the account. A fixed index annuity is an accumulation based product offered by an insurance company. The growth of your fixed indexed annuity is dependent on the performance of a chosen stock market index, but your money is not actually invested in this index. This offers you great growth potential and exceptional protection for your investment.

Speaker1:
While each can provide tax deferred growth and a lifetime income stream, variable annuities put your principal at risk in the market. If you are.

Speaker3:
Currently investing in a variable annuity, your funds could be in serious trouble if the market experienced any downturns.

Speaker1:
With so many possible choices to consider, it's essential you speak to a financial advisor or professional to help you make the best decision for your future. So are you ready to consider an annuity as part of your retirement plan? It's a key question to consider as you approach what should be your golden years with the Retirement Radio Network powered by Amira life. I'm Matt McClure. Fixed annuities, including multiyear guaranteed rate annuities, are not designed for short term investments and may be subject to restrictions, fees and surrender charges as described in the annuity contract. Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying ability of the issuer.

Speaker2:
While Washington's spending keeps growing, your retirement doesn't have to shrink, protect and grow your hard earned money today by calling us at (770) 685-1777. That's (770) 685-1777 to connect with a qualified advisor.

Speaker3:
Welcome back. Result drivers to retirement results right here in the John Fredericks radio network. And Am 920 the answer in Atlanta. We're also super proud to be airing in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Nashville and Memphis, and in the state of Georgia. Um, we're so excited also to be airing this show in the New England states, and we're just real proud to be a part of the John Fredericks Radio Network. Thanks to John Fredericks for including us, um, on your network. And we're the only financial radio show on the John Fredericks Radio Network. We're proud to be the lone, um, source of financial truth here on the John Fredericks Radio network. And we're talking about the five mistakes to avoid when preparing for retirement. Sam, go ahead and give them a recap of what we've talked about in the last segment, the one through four. And then I've got our number five mistake that people need to avoid when preparing for retirement.

Speaker4:
Yeah. If you missed the first part of our list, I'll give you a quick recap. You can also subscribe to the Retirement Results podcast Wherever you listen to podcasts, you can listen to any segment from any of our previous episodes, and that's just a great thing to do. We love our podcast listeners. Here's the first four from our list of mistakes to avoid when preparing for retirement. The first one was putting off saving for retirement. So you want to get started saving. Make sure you're paying yourself first when you get paid every two weeks or every month whenever you get paid. Number two on the list is not building an emergency fund. We want you to have enough cash on hand to cover those things that come up, whether it be an automobile repair, maybe a medical expense. You know, maybe you have a child or grandchild that could use your assistance. So make sure you have that emergency fund in place. Also, here's a mistake to avoid selling investments when the markets swing. So we know the markets have their ups and downs. Be sure you don't let emotions get the best of you and lock in those losses when the markets swing. Uh, here's the next and fourth mistake to avoid. We want you to have cash on hand for an emergency fund, but not too much cash. If you're staying in cash, that's a mistake. You don't want to just be stashing your money at the bank. You want to be investing smarter. Make make sure your money is working as hard for you as you worked for it. And Ford, you have our fifth mistake for everyone out there listening to avoid when they're thinking about their retirement. Yeah.

Speaker3:
So you want to really just not make this mistake? The mistake is going it alone. Money can be perceived as a deeply personal topic, but really, it shouldn't be. Not only is it wise for us to engage in fruitful dialogue about our financial lives, but we should also be proactive and enlist the guidance of financial professionals. If you want to make the best choices and implement the best strategies, I'll give you an example. Um, I've got a half brother who's 25 years younger than me, and he and I talk money every week. We talk about his career as a commercial real estate Agent who's a land agent. He's done very well early in his career. Um, he's now got three kids. He's married. He's now 31. Um, but he's younger than me, and. But also, he's helped me. I've helped him. And we try to have an open dialogue every week about, hey, what's going on with the top line? Are you say, are you saving money? I'm not badgering him and he's not badgering me. But it's really great to have my brother to kind of lean on and to have conversations. And obviously me being older and being a financial advisor, it's much easier. We've we've also been able to have some fun with an investment club and things like that. Um, I would just encourage you to get someone in your life. Hopefully it's a licensed financial advisor that will have an open dialogue with you about your financial situation, so you can just make it better. I mean, Inspector G, which is the title of this show. So I mean, I'm, I think this show, Sam is coming together so great. I think this this show is a really important show for a lot of people to understand. Can you also just talk about the differences between a bank, CD and migas? I want to talk about how do we beat those bank CD rates that continue to plummet?

Speaker2:
Need a higher rate of return from your safe money? Listen up. It's time to beat the bank CD rates.

Speaker4:
Yeah, this is a great thing to talk about this week, because interest rates are something that have become a topic of discussion there. Certainly in the news, as we approach the election and with some anticipated changes. You know, in the first segment of today's show, we were talking about John Williams note from his most recent report. Uh, but this is actually great timing because we just had somebody reach out to us, um, at, at Active Wealth Management, the home of retirement results, saying, hey, they've got a bank CD about $30,000 that is maturing this fall and they don't need the cash for anything right away, but that's something that they're reserving for kind of the safe money of their portfolio that maybe they'll need in the next few years, but they don't need it now because they're leading up to retirement. And, you know, bank CDs aren't exactly the best place to do that for a couple of reasons. The first one being when you invest with a Miga with an insurance company, their reserve requirement is 100% versus the money that you give to a bank. They're only going to keep 10% of that in reserves, and they're going to lend out the remaining 90% to other customers. The insurance company is required to keep all of your money in deposits, in reserves, and also many of the rates that we're seeing forward for these two. But a lot of the time, three year mygas are very favorable when compared to a bank CD. And there's also some tax benefits as well.

Speaker3:
No. No question. So if you if you got a bank CD and you get interest on it, let's say you have a two year bank city and you have interest on it between year one and year two. You're going to pay taxes on that year one interest. Whereas with Amiga, if you don't surrender the policy or you don't take income from the policy or any interest that goes into your pocket in your bank account, it just remains within the policy. You do not owe any taxes in that end of year one even if you've generated interest. So it's you're getting triple compounded interest growth. So you're getting growth in your principal growth on your gains, but also growth on the taxes you would have paid. So I think it's a much better situation to invest in Amiga. Amiga stands for Miga. It's a multi year guaranteed annuity and it's a really good idea. Um there's also creditor protection. There's flexibility. There's also greater financial security with 100% financial reserve. And also you can do diversification with migas because you can truly get diversified away from the financial markets and go with an insurance product or an annuity product. If you will, and make sure you're getting interest done that way. That's true diversification. You're not just diversifying within a single, um, overall financial market.

Speaker3:
That could actually be a problem where you might have systematic, um, you know, negative growth or, or a downturn in the market where it would kind of the lowering tide would lower all boats. You've got a situation with migas. It's completely separate, and they're giving you a fixed interest that's guaranteed by the contract. So if you've got questions about, hey, should I invest in a micro or not? I really do have some bank CD money or some money in my checking account money, my savings account that I need to do a better job with, or even in a money market. Omegas are going to beat all those most of the time in interest rate growth. In a guaranteed interest rate growth, it's fixed. All you have to do is reach out to us at (888) 814-0304. That's (888) 814-0304. Or you can visit retirement. Com forward slash plan. That's retirement results.com/plan. And we've got like four minutes left in this segment. Three saying what I want to do now is I really would like to cover the investment fees to be aware of. And we can kind of brother in law these the first one that I'll share is mutual funds charge operating expenses and they charge expenses called 12 b one fees, a share fees and C share fees. That can really drive up that expense ratio within your portfolio that don't necessarily show up on your statement, but they will show up in the bottom line value of your overall portfolio and also with mutual funds.

Speaker3:
One note about that is you have to wait till the end of the trading day where a net asset value can be established, and then you can look and seek to trade and sell shares in your mutual fund. If you're looking to sell and liquidate any shares in a mutual fund. So be careful about what you do with mutual funds. Just be aware that there are marketing fees and operating expense fees that come with mutual funds that erode value, and we believe that exchange traded funds are far superior product because they give you the same type of diversification. But and you can also trade them within the trading day intraday, if you will. And you also can have a you also will have a much lower expense ratio and fees with exchange traded funds which are called ETFs. We use ETFs to implement our portfolios and we encourage you to do the same. Go ahead and reach out to us at (888) 814-0304. That's (888) 814-0304. Or check us out at retirement Results.com. What's the number two investment fee that people need to be aware of there? Sam?

Speaker4:
Yeah. Another thing we really want people to be aware of because we want more of your hard earned dollars to stay in your pocket. So be aware that some types of funds have higher expenses and therefore higher expense ratios than others. So if you've ever done your own investing at all, maybe looking at your an index fund or a mutual fund, there will be all these different things that you'll see from market cap to moving averages to what is the price of a share that day? Well, one of the things you'll often see that you may not have known what it was is an expense ratio. And that is a literal ratio of what the fees are in that index fund. Some are higher than others, even though they may hold the same components as an alternative fund, like an ETF. And that's one of the reasons why we often go with ETFs is because it's a lot more price efficient. And when you're investing your money for your retirement, every little fraction of a percent adds up and counts, especially when you have thousands of of components that you're invested in throughout your whole portfolio.

Speaker3:
Completely agree. You gotta understand that there's different there's different levels of expense ratio with different funds. And you don't understand. You inspect what you expect on the fees within the funds that you you earn and you hold. All right. Let's take a break here. We're going to continue investment fees to be aware of right here on retirement results. You're listening to retirement results on the John Fredericks radio network. We'll be right back.

Speaker2:
Thanks for listening to retirement results. Schedule your complimentary financial consultation now at retirement Results.com.

Every breath you take and every move you make. Every bond you break, every step you take.

Speaker2:
This part of today's show Retirement Results, is available wherever you listen to podcasts and online at retirement Results.com.

Speaker3:
I'm Ford Sexton, chief financial advisor. Get Sam Davis, our senior financial advisor and co-host here on the show with me and Sam, we're talking about investment fees. To be aware of the title of this overall show is Inspector, do you expect and how to reduce the risk you're taking and the fees you're paying within your own portfolio? Sam, go ahead and give us the next investment fees for folks to be aware of.

Speaker4:
The next thing we want people to be aware of is investment management fees that are charged as a percentage of the total assets managed. So if you haven't heard from your advisor lately, one thing that I would definitely check up on is what is that fee that you are being charged annually that comes off as a percentage of your entire portfolio of money. Manage. Make sure that you know what that is and ask yourself the question, am I getting enough value for that? In exchange, have I actually gotten some actionable advice and some practical help from that person lately?

Speaker3:
Yeah. No question. Also, a lot of people think that, you know, advisory and portfolio fees are charged on the percentage of the growth. That's not the case. It's over the entire average, um, asset value or for the entire portfolio for the month is generally how they're done. So just make sure you're aware of how those, um, fees are being charged, but also the amount of fees. What's the percentage? Uh, we're seeing some brokerage houses are charging 1.3 to almost 2%, which is a whole lot. And we don't believe in that. We like to charge a reasonable amount that's under 1% to our clients, because we want to make sure that our clients understand it's their money. It is your money. We're here to protect and grow it. That's our goal. And it just worked out much better for us to be more efficient for our clients and to help better protect and grow their hard earned and hard saved wealth.

Speaker4:
Be aware that many brokerages charge a transaction fee each time in order to buy or sell a mutual fund or stock is placed. This is something to look out for if you're seeing a lot of activity in your account, in your trading report, when you're looking at your quarterly statements, but you're not seeing much of an improvement in the overall value. That could be a red flag and something you want to look at that could just be churning your account and charging unnecessary fees. So you do want to inspect what you're expecting with that?

Speaker3:
No question. We we don't make money on trading fees. We we only charge portfolio and advisory fees. And we do it at a lower rate than our competitors. That's one way that's allowed us to be very competitive. So we have no incentive to churn anybody's account. So if you want a fiduciary to look out for you and to really protect and grow your hard earned and hard saved wealth, I'd encourage you to reach out to us at (888) 814-0304. That's (888) 814-0304. Or just reach out to us at retirement results.com. Also, we want you to look out for front end loads and back end loads, commissions as or a share fees and c share fees that we see with mutual funds that we talked about earlier. Um, just be very careful about that. Just understand what you're buying. Um, and or what is being purchased for you on your behalf. Um, just be aware. Just ask you to do that. And then last thing here, the last investment fee you need to be aware of, uh, in this list is brokerages also may charge an annual custodian fee. Um, so we use Charles Schwab. Uh, we use fidelity, we use, um, altruist, we use several other custodians, and they kind of serve as the bank. Um, you never write a check to Ford Stokes or Sam Davis or active wealth management or retirement results. You you write a check to Charles Schwab, uh, for benefit of your name. So. And also, any money that's withdrawn from your account has to go into an account with your name on it. Exactly. And the Social Security numbers need to match. Et cetera.

Speaker3:
Et cetera. So, um, we do everything we can to protect and grow our clients. Hard earned and hard saved money. And one of those ways is to make sure there's no fraud risk. And, um, we have dual or dual factor verification, um, when we're signing into our custodian accounts and things like that. So we're, we've done a really good job of trying to do our best to eliminate any kind of fraud situation for our clients because, you know, it's your money and it's got to be there. And, you know, kind of like Will Rogers said. And Albert Einstein said, they both said that I'm much more concerned with the return of my principal than the return on my principal. So we want to make sure that happens too. So we're just fiduciaries. It's it's part of our job to make sure that we protect your, your money and your principal and your wealth. And that's why we're able to stay in business. Uh, we're fiduciaries. We got to put your needs ahead of our own, and we're really proud of our track record in that. And just be very careful about what the annual custodian fee is. And also make sure you have a custodian, because if you're just writing checks to an individual firm or an individual and they're counting on to pay you money back and principal and interest and things like that, and growth. Be very wary of what that pitch is because it may not be right. You should have a custodian that is theirs that's there to serve as the bank. Um, so just want to make sure you're aware of that.

Speaker4:
Yeah. And nobody likes fees and and we don't need to tell you, you know, whether you're traveling, you know, buying an airplane ticket or booking a hotel or, or going to a concert or sporting event. The fees are just all over the place. And we just want to encourage you that when it comes to your hard saved money, when you're getting those quarterly statements, you're getting those statements from your investment account or your current advisor. Make sure you understand what those fees are that are coming off. And if you're feeling confused and overwhelmed and just want somebody to help look through some of those statements. Maybe you're cleaning out that financial junk drawer in the kitchen, and you just want somebody to look over some of those statements. Now's a great time to do that, especially if you are getting ready for retirement or if you've just recently retired. Ford and I want to help you do that. You can go to Retirement results.com/plan, or just pick up the phone and give us a call from anywhere in the United States. (888) 814-0304. That number is (888) 814-0304. And you'll find that number online as well at retirement results.com/plan. And Ford we have made it to our final countdown for this week. It's the final.

Speaker2:
Countdown. So let's recap what you may have missed. It's the final.

Countdown. The final Down.

Speaker3:
So on this week's show, we gave you an update from John Williams at Shadowstats.com talking about what's going on with inflation. And the US central bank still needs to rein in its 57 year peak in systemic liquidity. They need to stop creating an excessive amount of money. Let's do that. And it's not the overheating economy. Um, number two, we talked about the five mistakes to avoid when preparing for retirement that we got from a Yahoo Finance article that was really educational. We liked actually sharing that one. And then also we talked about beating bank CDs with multi year guaranteed annuities. Um, that's a really good idea. And then we also shared um investment fees to be aware of that included mutual fund charges. Um also investment management fees and portfolio fees to avoid and be mindful of and also um the transaction fees with brokerage houses as well. Also look out for those a share fees and C share fees with mutual funds. In fact, try to consider investing in exchange traded funds instead to get that diversification you might be looking for. And also just be aware that brokerage houses are even charging for custodial fees and even information technology fees as well. So those are significant fees that can erode the overall value of your portfolio. We're so glad you've been with us here on retirement results this week.

Speaker3:
We're super proud to bring this to you each and every week. Also, thanks again to John Fredericks for making us the only financial radio show here on the John Fredericks Radio Network. We're also the number one listened to show on Am 920, the answer on the weekends. And if you've got questions about how you can get started, and we've gotten so many calls from so many different folks from different states, we appreciate it. And we're here to help you. We're going to provide that free financial plan for you. It's a $1,500 value with portfolio analysis, social security maximization report and a financial plan. Your 95th birthday. All at no cost to you. All you got to do is reach out to us at retirement results.com/plan. That's retirement results.com/plan. And you can put your information in or just go to retirement results. Com you'll be able to figure it out from there. You can also just give us a call at (888) 814-0304. That's (888) 814-0304. We appreciate each and every one of you. Remember, when you're seeking information about investing and your own personal retirement. If you're going to be a bear, be a grizzly. Be as aggressive as you can as seeking much information as possible. Have a great week, everybody.

Speaker2:
Thanks for listening to retirement results. You deserve to work with an independent team of fiduciary advisors that will strategically work to protect and grow your hard earned assets. To schedule your complimentary financial consultation, call us now at 6851777. That's (770) 685-1777. To connect with a qualified advisor. To learn more about our mission and our team, visit retirement Results.com. Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC, a registered investment advisor and Active wealth Management are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Past performance cannot be used as an indicator to determine future results. Registered investment advisors and investment advisor representatives act as fiduciaries for all of our investment management clients. We have an obligation to act in the best interest of our clients and to make full disclosure of any conflicts of interest. If any exist, please refer to our firm brochure, the ADV Two-a, page four. For additional information.

Speaker1:
Hi, this is Matt McClure, senior financial advisor with retirement results. You've saved your whole life so you wouldn't have to worry about your money when you retired. But you worry more now than ever. You've been a good saver. You have 500,000, maybe $1 million or even more. You should feel confident, but you don't. You're worried a big loss will wipe you out. You saved so you could spend during retirement, but you don't. You're worried you'll run out of money. You'll want to retire, but you don't. You're worried you don't have enough. Does any of this sound familiar? Well, it should, because we hear these things all the time from people just like you who are preparing for retirement or even already retired. So why do you worry so much? It's because you don't have an actual plan in writing. Nothing to guide you through retirement. Retirement results helps people just like you. You'll get a free, customized written retirement plan. That's right, free and no obligation. Schedule your meeting now at retirement results.com/plan. That's retirement results.com/plan.

Speaker2:
Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor.

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