Managing Market Volatility: How We Help Our Clients

3.14.25: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

3.14.25: 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 is your chief financial adviser, Ford Stokes.

Speaker3:
And welcome to retirement results. Result drivers on Ford. Stokes, your chief financial advisor. We've got Sam Davis here with us. Who's our senior financial advisor and co-host on the show. Sam, say hello to everybody.

Speaker4:
Welcome to the weekend result drivers. And welcome back to retirement results. It is March. The weather has been fantastic here in the Atlanta area. So I hope everybody's been getting out there with the kids and grandkids and enjoying the wonderful weather we've been having. And Ford springtime also brings the Players Championship. There's some good golf on TV this weekend, and also March Madness is upon us. And I know your Auburn Tigers have one of the best teams in the nation this year. How excited are you right now?

Speaker3:
Yeah, we're excited to see how this thing is going to go this year. Um, shout out to all the Auburn fans out there. It was disappointing to see the Georgia go out, um, against Oklahoma. I thought that they were going to have a deeper run in the SEC tournament, but, um, I wish Georgia all the best in the actual NCAA tournament tourney. Unfortunately, I don't think Georgia Tech is going to make it this year. I wish they would, um, always love pulling for Georgia Tech as well. Um, for the local teams here. And, you know, good luck to everybody. Good luck to your Kansas Jayhawks. Um, obviously this is always y'all's time of the year for sure, but, um, yeah, I'm excited. Also, I was really excited to see that the inflation numbers were better than, than originally had thought they were going to be and how they were going to be projected. Look forward to you giving us that update right after you give us this financial wisdom. Quote of the week. On today's show, we're going to talk about why conversations matter, how open and honest discussions about money can protect your retirement, and also strengthen family relationships. We've kind of experiencing that now with my 87 year old father and my 71 year old stepmother. And we've got there's six of us kids and we're trying to deal with all that stuff. Um, so I can tell you from experience, it is really important to have these conversations also discussing your retirement plans, what your family needs to know about your goals, income and lifestyle expectations. Uh, also, whether you're going to do not resuscitate on your health care power of attorney or your financial power of attorney, those types of documents as well.

Speaker3:
Uh, estate planning and inheritance conversations, strategies for addressing wills, trusts and how you want your assets handled. We work with a service that gives you access to getting a revocable trust done for. No kidding. About $2,700, you can get a will done for like 6 to $700. We since Covid. Sam, you and I have seen so many of our clients have come to us and they've been like for do you have a less expensive option for estate planning, and specifically for wills or revocable trust, or an irrevocable trust, and even a special needs trust for a special needs child? Things like that. And we've been able to accomplish that at literally 10 to $0.20 on the dollar, compared to what some of the estate attorneys are charging in, like Buckhead as an example. And we only work with licensed attorneys. We don't share fees with those attorneys. So I would encourage you to go ahead and get started on that right away, just by giving us a call at (770) 685-1777. If you want to get your, um, will or vocal trust again (770) 685-1777 or just reach out to us at retirement results. Com we've also last one last point we're going to talk about on today's show is the importance of putting it all in writing, and how formalizing your plans can prevent confusion and avoid future conflicts. Sam, go ahead and share the financial wisdom. Quote of the week from the Oracle from Omaha Warren Buffett.

Speaker4:
Yeah, this is an appropriate quote of the week for this week given the recent market volatility. Warren Buffett once said the true investor welcomes volatility. A wildly fluctuating market means that irrationally low prices will periodically be attached to solid businesses and Ford. We find a lot of our clients, the ones that have implemented a smart, safe plan, are far less concerned than most folks out there this week who have been watching, whether it be Fox business or just watching the stock ticker on their mobile apps, on their phone, and seeing a lot of red this week in the markets. But as Warren Buffett says, this can present opportunity whether you're doing a smart, safe strategy or a smart risk strategy, you can build a plan to manage times like these.

Speaker3:
Yeah, absolutely. And I, I wanted to share. Listen, if some of these indices that are attached to some bond replacement products, like fixed index annuities, might be at a depressed level at this time, now would be the perfect time to buy a fixed index annuity to replace the bonds in your portfolio, because over the next two years it's likely, especially when we've got a pro-business president with Donald J. Trump. And we've also seen you're going to give a great update here in just a second on how much lower the inflation rate is compared to what it's been under the previous administration. I gotta tell you, I'm super excited about the future, and it would be great to actually get your strike price at a lower strike level and a lower pricing level with an underlying index, with a fixed index annuity, where you can really get some market like gains without any market risk. So you don't have to you don't have to participate in the downside of the market. You can participate in the upside with these fixed index annuities. They're hybrid products. And we'll go into it in section in segment two here about how those work. But Sam, why don't you go ahead and share the market update for this week.

Speaker2:
Your active wealth market update.

Speaker4:
Consumer prices eased in February, offering welcome news for President Trump as markets reckon with new tariffs that economists warn could stoke inflation. But the consumer price index rose at an annual rate of 2.8% for the month, which is a slower climb than many forecasters had anticipated. Core inflation, which takes out volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.1%, the Labor Department said this past Wednesday. That was slightly below the 3.2% anticipated by most economists. There were some painful spikes for grocery staples like meat and eggs, which have been affected by bird flu outbreaks. The 2.6% annual increase in food prices trailed the overall rate of inflation. Gasoline prices also fell. Last month, the Trump War Room, which is an organ for the president's political operation, responded on X by posting promises made, promises kept on X. But this may be the last monthly inflation report that reflects a pre-tariff economy. We, of course, know that Donald Trump and the administration have been applying many new tariffs. The new 25% levy on global steel and aluminum imports to the US took effect overnight, which has prompted reprisals from key European trading partners. I saw recently, Ford, that the president wants the American people to have so much money in their pockets, they don't know what to do with it. Press secretary Caroline Leavitt told reporters during a briefing on Tuesday.

Speaker3:
Yeah. It's fantastic. I'm super excited to see that inflation is going down. What do you know? Milton Friedman was right. Inflation comes from one place. Washington, D.C. and what happens when you're reducing the trillions of dollars? Or at least there, I mean, Elon Musk and Doge, they've reduced the actual expenditures by the US government, the federal government, by more than $4 billion a day. They're on pace to hit their trillion dollars for the year in savings. That is incredible. And we've been we've had a $2.7 trillion deficit a year since Covid. And we're getting rid of the graft. We're getting rid of the fraud, waste and abuse. And in my opinion, just straight up theft. And I'm I'm super excited about where we're headed. I mean, I think this is going to be fantastic. And I also look forward to, you know, Trump getting us into the golden era of the United States. I saw another really great interview Howard Lutnick did where he talked about he's trying to get the externally where everybody that wants to produce things and sell things inside the United States, they have to actually pay the tariff, which is kind of like a membership price. Just like you go to Costco or Sam's, you pay a membership price every year. That makes sense. And if that's the case, his goal, Donald Trump's goal is if you make $150,000 or less in the United States, he's trying to get it where you're paying zero taxes. Also, he's got it in the budget this year for no tax on tips and no tax on Social Security. It's incredibly important for our retirees and pre-retirees that there will be no tax on Social Security. I mean, that's another 2 or $300 a month for people. That's $3,600 a year or more on a traditional, typical Social Security average benefit that buys a lot of groceries, folks. And that'll be fantastic. When we come back, we're going to talk about why you need a smart vision for your retirement retirement results.

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

Speaker5:
In celebration.

Speaker2:
At Active Wealth Management, we know you've worked hard for your money and you've worked even harder to save it. When it comes to wealth management and planning for retirement, Ford Stokes of Retirement Results is passionate about helping people protect and grow their wealth while educating them on all their options so they can choose what's right for them. Visit retirement Results.com to schedule your no obligation consultation today. It's a $1,500 value provided at no cost to you. Book yours now at retirement Results.com.

Speaker1:
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:
You're listening to. Retirement results. And now back to the show.

Speaker3:
And welcome back to Retirement Results, your financial radio show. The only financial radio show you need, the only financial podcast you need. Uh, Sam and I are super excited that you're here with us. We're here to help you better understand how to protect and grow your hard earned and hard saved wealth. We give a shout out to the result drivers every single week. And if you're wondering, our result driver is it's somebody who listens to this show. They want to drive results for their retirement and for their family and their friends and their their spouses. Right. Um, they're folks that are looking to build that tax efficient, fee efficient and market efficient portfolio. They're also folks that don't really love watching the stock ticker every day. They want to have peace of mind. And we're going to talk about that peace of mind in our problem solver segment this during this show. I don't know if we'll get to it this segment or next. And what we're talking about now is why the money talk matters and really why you need to have a smart vision for retirement. The big idea here is for many families, money is the last thing anybody wants to talk about, but it's often the first thing that can cause misunderstandings, confusion, or even conflict if it's left unspoken.

Speaker3:
And I will tell you this as a some somebody that's part of a family of six kids, we have a text chain with just just all the six siblings and and I'll tell you, it's really helpful to see everything in real time. I kind of have to mute the conversation at times, but but it is great to be able to go back. And that way everybody is up to date on what's going on with my stepmom and my dad and and what else needs to happen and all that stuff. Um, my dad is still working. He's 87 years young and my stepmom is 71 going on 72, and they're just trying to make sure they're taken care of and all the things that they've got going on. Um, so but it is helpful. So, Sam, why don't you share a little bit more about some of the studies and what they've shown here regarding that transparency and having a smart vision for retirement.

Speaker4:
Waiting until there's an emergency can put everyone in a tough spot. So when you're in that pre-retiree phase, if you feel like you're within ten years of retirement, this is a great time to start putting together that smart vision with you and your spouse and and even your kids as well. And start to include them and and talk to them about, you know, how you're kind of entering this next chapter of your life and, and how things might be changing for mom and dad. Um, you know, open communication isn't just about the financials and dollars and cents. It's it's about, you know, what you want to do. You know, what does retirement look like to you? Who are you going to be with? You know, where are you going to be? Um, you know, what concerns do you have for the future that maybe you want to discuss with your kids? You know, having that health care plan in place. And, you know, we mentioned earlier in the show making sure those powers of attorney are straightened out. Um, you know, if you're a part of a multigenerational family, this becomes a real multi, you know, way conversation. Um, your kids could be making college plans or or entering the workforce.

Speaker4:
Um, and your aging parents maybe have not done this same thing for you, but you want to have that conversation with your kids so that you can have a smoother journey through retirement. But, Ford, I know when we sit down with our clients for the first time. It's usually a first meeting thing. It's, you know, just getting to know each other. What are your goals? What does retirement look like to you? We have a lot of people who want to retire right here in the great state of Georgia. I think it's a great place to retire here in the South. You've got access to a lot of different, great locations. In the southeast. You can go to the Georgia coast, you can go to South Carolina, you can go to Florida, do some great family vacations there. And we have an airport here in Atlanta that can get you anywhere in the world, pretty much in just about a day. So this is a great place to retire. But Ford, I know you like to encourage people, you know, if it's something that they would enjoy, you know, find that house on the lake or maybe even the beach.

Speaker3:
Yeah. I mean, if you can get on some body of water so that you got the kids coming to see you on Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day a lot more often than just Thanksgiving, I think you're going to find that you're going to really enjoy retirement that much more. Also, we've seen, um, there's some pretty good pricing right now that's going on in Florida. We've seen a lot of people that are trying to get out of their, their properties, um, because the insurance levels have gone up. So a lot of folks are trying to pivot and transition and go towards the lake. Um, that's just kind of one example. I want to give you the problem solver. Let me just go ahead and share that right now.

Speaker2:
It's time for this week's Problem Solver.

Speaker3:
So here's our problem solver of the week. So we've got a couple and they've got three kids and they just retired. They had um one worked for the CDC and one had worked um over at Emory. And they had built a house on a small lake. Um, that's in the just outside the Atlanta metro area. And they're super excited about that lake. And you can have ski boats and fishing boats and stuff like that on it. And it's not huge like Lake Lanier, but it's not really small either. And they found that they've got kids just staying with them like crazy. And one of which, you know, their their daughter in law is actually waiting out there. Her, you know, she's about to have a baby and she's going to do a maternity leave and all that stuff at the house this summer. And they're like, yeah, it was probably more, more time than even we wanted, but we're glad to have them. And and so that worked out really well. But also I wanted to talk about the peace of mind that this couple got. I mean, they they came in with like 2.1 million. They said, you know, we want to put $1 million into, um, three different fixed index annuities. We want to diversify away from just bonds and stocks and bonds in the market. And we also want to diversify with other a minus or a plus rated carriers. So that is three different annuities with three different companies. They got they got 10% bonus, a 15% bonus and a 20% bonus in all three different annuities. And they've got some guaranteed interest going in the income account. One of one of their products is paying 8% guaranteed interest, and their income is remarkable. But when a week like this happens, I got a call from that gentleman on Friday and it was interesting.

Speaker3:
They they said, hey, you know, even with this tough week in the market, we're not as concerned because our income portion of our portfolio is completely set. I'll just tell you, it's it's pretty remarkable that kind of result. And now is one of the best times, in my opinion, to invest in a fixed index annuity for two reasons. One is the ten year US Treasury is higher than it's traditionally been. Throughout my career. It's usually been like 1.4 to 1.8% on a yield of the ten year US Treasury. Now, I mean, as of this week, it was average. It was yielding about 4.288%. That's almost triple what it's been traditionally throughout my career. That's a lot. And that allows the annuity companies to give you more growth on how those indexes perform, because they're buying options in those indexes with the interest that's generated from the ten year US Treasury. It's a big deal. And so if you've been putting off hey, I want to get peace of mind. I want to get a plan. I want to figure out my income. I want to consider getting a personal pension, or I really want to figure out how can I do better than just taking out 4% of my IRA and And investment accounts every year to fund my lifestyle. If you want to do better than that, I would encourage you to go and reach out to us at (770) 685-1777 or visit retirement results. Com that's retirement results. Com we come back more on smart safe investing and how to build your own personal pension. You're listening to retirement results right here on Am 920. The answer and WD one.

Speaker2:
Learn more at retirement results. Com or by calling us today at (770) 685-1777.

Speaker6:
On the corner waiting in the rain. I swear I'll never, ever wait again.

Speaker3:
Hey, this Ford Stokes with active wealth management and retirement results, you've gotten used to getting higher interest rates on your savings accounts and bank CDs. But the fed has been lowering rates. If you're 55 or older and have at least $250,000 to invest, and you'd like to lock in to higher interest rates, we can help. Currently, we can lock in income payout rates as high as 8%, 9% or even 10% guaranteed for life. Even if interest rates drop back down to 1% or lower, you'd be locked into higher income payout rates for as long as you live. You can do this with your IRA 400 and K 403 B pension, rollover, current bank savings or even brokerage accounts. Schedule your free meeting with us at Active Wealth. Com and we will help you battle lower interest rates by locking in great income payout rates for the rest of your life. Call our office today at (770) 685-1777 or visit active wealth.com.

Speaker1:
Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. Guaranteed income streams refer to fixed insurance products only and are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing company. We all know.

Speaker7:
The importance of car insurance. It keeps us safe on the road, protects our wallets and gives us peace of mind. But what if you're paying too much for it? I'm Jim Tirabuscio for the retirement radio network powered by Amira life. Whether inflation, supply chain disruptions or just simple traffic violations. There have been a myriad of reasons behind the rising car insurance rates over the past year. Senior director of global insurance intelligence group Stephen Crewdson.

Speaker8:
It's fair to say in the last couple of years, the average consumer has seen over a 20% increase in their auto insurance premiums. Some have seen much more than that.

Speaker7:
According to a report from CNBC, drivers from some states experienced a 40% increase in their premiums. In fact, drivers nationwide spent an average of 3.1% of their income on car insurance premiums alone. In some states, though, it was a lot more. For example, insurance is up 4.91% in Nevada, 5.01% in Michigan, and 5.69% a whopping number in the state of Florida. So if you feel you're paying too much for car insurance, there's a simple solution that we want to share with you today. Visit coverage.com. It's a free website that will compare prices for you and deliver a menu of insurance quotes to choose from that can best suit your financial situation. For the retirement radio Network powered by Amira Life, I'm Jim Tarabukin.

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:
And welcome back to retirement results. I'm Ford Stokes, your chief financial advisor. And I've got Sam Davis here with us, our senior financial advisor and co-host of the show. And we do want to say thank you for making us the number one listen to radio show on the weekends on Am 920. The answer. We also want to thank all of our listeners in Gainesville on one around the lake for, um, you know, all of the great feedback and y'all keep it coming. Go ahead and reach out to us at (770) 685-1777. Based on what's happened over the last week, especially with the market volatility and and what Mark Deorio told us on last week's show about the tariff tantrum that the markets have kind of had. I wanted to share that. Yeah, there's some risks that are facing retirees and pre-retirees. And Sam's going to kind of go through some of those risks that you're facing. But we there are solutions to the problem and we can help you do that. Um, you know, you can get into some smart, safe investments like, you know, manage portfolios, tactically managed portfolios where you're rebalancing, at least on a monthly basis. You're not riding the lowest of the lows, the market. You can also invest in structured note ladders. You can invest in fixed index annuities as a bond replacement so your retirement income is completely set. You can do a combination between strategic and tactical asset allocation. There's a lot of options out there for you. You don't feel like you don't feel like you got to go it alone, right? And so if you don't want to go it alone, I encourage you to reach out to us at retirement results.com/plan. That's retirement results. Dot com forward slash plan. So Sam's going to give you kind of a lot of the risk that you're facing. And some of some of these risks you may not even be aware of. So Sam go ahead and share the risks that are facing retirees and pre-retirees right now.

Speaker4:
Yeah. The first one is right at the top of everyone's list this week. And that is market risk. That's stock market risk. That could be housing market risk. But specifically changes in the stock market with your retirement savings and your investments for retirement, your portfolio will definitely be affected by changes in the market. You know, we say during some of our workshops for the the market can only do three things. It can go up, it can go down or it can stay the same. And we're seeing a lot of up and down over the past week. You don't want to be prepared for volatility because there is uncertainty in the market. You want to implement some tactical asset allocation as well as some smart, safe investing strategies. Maybe a personal pension to place a protective floor on a portion of your portfolio. Just make sure your income is protected and that's what you can do to really tackle market risk. The next one is interest rate risk. Changes in interest rates have a significant effect on American families, and they affect the economy as a whole. I mean, every time the fed comes out on those Wednesday meetings and they have an interest rate change that causes ripples across not just the American economy, but I would argue the global economy, because of the United States strength in the global economy as a whole, um, and interest rates can affect you.

Speaker4:
You know, if you're in a bank CD right now, that's giving you 4%. You know, that might be pretty good. But there's no guarantee that when that CD is matured in a year, that that same interest rate is going to be available. So possibly implement some strategies where you can get a guaranteed interest rate for a little bit longer, maybe something like a Miga, a 3 or 4 year Miga that maybe offers a more favorable rate for you for some of that money that you want to keep safe. We even have a product through Nationwide Ford that we've discussed recently that has a guaranteed 8% simple interest roll up for the first ten years, or until you start taking withdrawals from that policy. That's a great option as well. If you really want to lock into a more favorable interest rate. Another risk would be inflation. Although it's cooling off, inflation has had a significant effect on the spending power of American citizens. I mean, could you live today on what you were making 20 years ago? I expect the answer is probably no for that. And for most people out there, the answer would be no. Just because the cost of things, especially things we need like energy, gas, Food, health care.

Speaker4:
Those things especially are being affected by inflation. You also have sequence of returns risk. If you're getting close to retirement, that is a bad time to experience a big market downturn. That's why we encourage people to place a protective shield around that income portion of their portfolio, so that any changes in the market are not going to affect your income plan in retirement, and longevity risk as well. A lot of people out there are living longer than ever before. I mean, Ford, you just mentioned your father's in his late 80s and still working. No signs of slowing down, and he's a lawyer. And so that's awesome that he's still able to be mentally sharp and work in that profession. A lot of people out there living a long time. We want to make sure that your money outlives you and not the other way around. People don't want to be a burden on their kids. And so longevity risk is something to be aware of. But you know, Ford, you know, looking at all of these risks that are facing pre-retirees and retirees, a lot of our clients have concerns and they kind of want to get to the guarantees. So you don't want to talk a little bit about what we do with smart, safe investing for our clients. Yeah.

Speaker3:
So the number one kind of job title that people worked with before they retired and invest with us, or while they're still working and still investing with us, is operators and professionals and executives in manufacturing facilities. Believe it or not, these folks are looking for something. They can guarantee something they can look, see, touch. They don't want to be told the runaround. They don't want to get anything that's not factual. And they like getting to bedrock. They like getting to a foundation for their retirement first and foremost. And we've seen a lot of investment in with our clients into fixed indexed annuities. Usually it's 20 to 40% of their portfolio. A lot of folks are coming back and saying, hey, you know what? I we've done well in the market with you. You know, now's the time to kind of take a little bit more money off the table and we want a little bit more income, but we don't want to have to just take out 4% withdrawals consistently from our IRA or from our Roth IRA that we're doing conversions for or the investment account. We really just like to get the monthly check if we could and can we look at another fixed index annuity to kind of take us up to like 50% of our portfolio? Our recommendation is kind of look at 20 to 40% of your portfolio and say, hey, you know what? We're going to carve out this amount for income and we're going to delete the fees from bonds. We're going to also delete the risk of reinvestment risk and interest rate risk.

Speaker3:
And really, believe it or not, this may sound really bold, but we strive all the time, every day with our clients to try to minimize the bonds almost to zero, where there's almost 0% bonds allocated within the portfolios, if we can, and we're trying to replace the bonds 100% with fixed index annuities. And if you want to protect your savings from stock market volatility. Smart Safe Investing It is an investment strategy designed to generate the highest possible return while keeping risk absolutely to a minimum. And with fixed index annuities, let me just go ahead. You guys hear us talk about them quite a bit. But they're insurance contracts to provide a guaranteed income stream or a personal pension for your retirement. The only difference is the personal pension you can create versus doing a pension at work with your employer is vastly different and better, in my opinion. And in the opinion of just about every economist out there. Sam's opinion as well. I don't usually like to put words in your mouth, Sam, but I know you're on that side with getting market linked growth versus just flat income that stays flat because you're going to lose purchasing purchasing power over your retirement. So you know, these fixed indexed annuities are used as an alternative to traditional bonds. They also provide a way for investors to protect their retirement savings from market volatility, similar to what we saw this past week. Fixed index annuities are designed to provide a protection from market downturns while providing potential for market like growth. Here's how they work, folks. You take in the state of Georgia.

Speaker3:
The state of Georgia actually regulates the annuities that are sold in the state of Georgia. These aren't regulated by the federal government. The state of Georgia has to balance their budget. Well, that's interesting, isn't it? The federal government doesn't. So they require 100% of the money you give to a fixed index annuity. They require that that annuity company or that life insurance company that's selling the annuity. They must reserve 100% of the money into safe financial products like the ten year US Treasury. And then, and only then, can they invest the interest that's generated off those ten year US Treasury bonds into options, into a, you know, a myriad of different indexes, all kinds of different indexes. But, you know, with the nationwide pick ten, it's the BNP Paribas Global Factor Index, where they're giving you a 310% growth. On how that goes to your point to point. They get you a little bit on on not giving you compound interest between year one and year two, but they're giving you 310% of how that index does. So that index does 4%. Guess what. You're doing 12.4% a year times two years. That's 24.2% growth over the two year period, just less a 1% spread rate. That's 23.4% growth in two years without your money being at risk in the market. So we come back to the break. Sam's got a problem solver for one of his clients. I think you're going to hear this one. It's really interesting. Come right back. You're listening to retirement Results on Am 91. The answer and one.

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

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

Speaker3:
All right. And welcome back to retirement results. I'm Ford Stokes, your chief financial advisor. I got Sam Davis here with us, our senior financial advisor and co-host of the show. And in the last segment, I was talking about how fixed indexed annuities work. And we had a few folks, uh, kind of listening here in our studio, and they were like, you know, it was really interesting. Nobody's ever told us how fixed index annuities really work. So I wanted to quickly go over that. And I want to go straight into your problem solver, Sam. So again, with a fixed index annuity, the states regulate those. So the state of Georgia, we're in the state of Georgia or any state you're in, the Insurance Commission is going to regulate for the state for that state, they're going to regulate the products that are bought and sold there. They're going to require 100% of the money that you give them. So 100 pennies of the 100 pennies you give them have to go into the ten year US Treasury and how they can make money off of your money and for you, and also take a little bit for themselves, is they can only invest the interest that's generated from the ten year US Treasury. So if the market goes down as it kind of has had some volatility over the last couple of weeks because of the tariffs and other concerns in the market and maybe commercial real estate, other things, if if those those options go to zero, guess what? Your money's still there because you're 100% of your money is invested into the ten year US Treasury. So the fixed indexed annuity zero is your hero. You're not going to lose any principal or premium value of what you put in.

Speaker3:
What else is nice is once they lock in your principal and your gains every protection period, most of these are 1 to 2 year protection periods. At the end of year two, you get to lock in your gains and the principal that was given and any bonus that you were given on the front end of the product. And oh, by the way, over the last two years, the surrender charge went down another 2%, 1% a year. Most of these annuities, they go down 1% a year. In a surrender charge. They start at 10% and they go down 1% a year until year ten. And you can take all the money, all the account value out. One other hint before I go to this problem solver with Sam is you really want to look for a fixed index annuity. That is going to give you a bonus. It's going to give you a high rate of return on an illustrated rate. Based on the last ten years performance of the index. You want to look for a guaranteed growth, or what they call a roll up into the interest and income account. That's really helpful. But the number one thing I look for is I look for an average rate of return that's estimated, that's going to outpace my withdrawal rate, so that my client's account value continues to grow even when they're getting withdrawals. So if you want to learn how to do that, I would encourage you to reach out to us at (770) 685-1777. That's (770) 685-1777. Or just reach out to us at retirement results.com/plan. That's retirement results.com/plan. Sam go ahead and share your problem solver of the week.

Speaker2:
It's time for this week's problem solver.

Speaker4:
All right Ford. So my problem solver for this week is from Jennifer. And of course we always change the names to protect the innocent here and not actually give the details of our very special active wealth clients. But Jennifer is in her 40s and she has a incredible job working as a pharmacist, doing very important work, making sure that all those retirees and anybody out there who needs their medications every week are getting what they need. And she's done an incredible job saving as well. Not so great investing until very recently when she came to Active Wealth and we were able to help her. She had left a previous employer where she was also a pharmacist, and just left that money that she had been saving in her 401 K there sitting for years while she worked for her new employer. And that's a situation that we see a lot for. When people change jobs, it happens a lot. I mean, so many folks change jobs right around 2020 during Covid and over the last couple of years with inflation, you know, rates have been really competitive. And if any of you out there have considered switching jobs recently, now might be a good time to look into that and see if you can give yourself a bit of a pay raise and a bit of a bump while still being able to practice your skills.

Speaker4:
Well, Jennifer had about $160,000 sitting in this 401 K. She didn't know what it was really invested in. We took a look at that and did an analysis of, you know, what was in there, the fees she was paying, the risks she was taking, and the correlation of those invested assets. And we did that for her overall plan as well. And over this past week, we were actually finally able for her to rescue that orphan, rescue that orphan 401 K. And because Jennifer's still in her 40s and she was able to take advantage of the nationwide peek ten, she's going to roll over that $160,000 into the nationwide peek ten. She'll be deferring that at least ten years and enjoy 8% simple interest guaranteed every year over that ten years. She also got a 20% bonus to start off the account, so right around a $32,000 bonus just to kick off things in that account, and by the time she gets to her mid 50s, Jennifer will be able to make the decision like, hey, do I want to roll this out and invest? Otherwise, do I want to put this into another personal pension product? Because at that point she'll be, you know, within ten years of retirement, she'll be in what we call the retirement red zone.

Speaker4:
But, you know, this problem solver for this week, the main thing for people to understand forward is if you have an orphan 401 K or even just an IRA that's been sitting to the side, you kind of set it and forget it. You don't know what's in there. Maybe once in a while you check in on the balance of the account. Maybe on weeks like this week, you're a little too scared to check on the balance of the account, because you don't. You don't think you'll like what you'll see. You know, now is really the time to have that conversation. We've been having a lot of good talks this week and over the past few episodes about having financial conversations, building that smart vision, you know, let's rescue those orphan 401 KS out there, get your statements together and all you have to do is go to active wealth.com/plan, or you can go to retirement results.com/plan. Either one will get you to us. And we can get started on a complimentary analysis and plan for you and and for. Do you want to walk people through what they get when they work with the advisors here at Active Wealth and what our clients have received?

Speaker3:
Yeah, I was pleased and privileged to be part of Jennifer's, um, consultations when she came in. And I the only thing I would say is, Tammy, you've done a great job at getting her money, working as hard as she does because she works very hard. She works like crazy hours. Her money was not working as hard as her, and her money being left in that old orphan 401 K, I felt like benefited the 401 K plan. And that 4k plan administrator the income she's gonna be able to generate some remarkable getting 20% immediate bonus was really helpful. But the 8% guaranteed interest. That doesn't change. And then getting 310% over the next, you know, ten years on the par rate, guaranteed over the next two years for sure is fantastic result as well. So anyway, but here's what you get when you meet with us. So number one is we're going to ask you to bring in your statements and bring in your or email us your, um, Social Security XML files. That's x ray Mary Lema from Tsa.gov. So go to tsa.gov. It's the link right underneath the PDF of your statement. Um, it's a blue text link. Just click XML file download and download that and email it to us. And you can, you know, before you come in you can go to Active wealth.com/workbook. That's active wealth. Com forward slash workbook. And you can upload your statements and fill out that questionnaire. And it's a really good fact finder for us to kind of get get the facts about what's going on. Like what your expenses you know. And what are your assets and what are your income sources, all those kind of things. And then we put a plan together for you about a week later. It takes us seven days to put a plan together.

Speaker3:
It's a $2,500 value, but we're going to do it for you. Absolutely no cost to you. And here are the five things you get. Number one is you get a portfolio analysis of your current portfolio so you understand the fees you're paying, the risk you're taking and the correlation of your assets. Number two is we're going to be a retirement income gap analysis. And we'll determine whether you're starting with a positive retirement income surplus or a negative retirement income gap. Here's a hint on that. If you start with a negative retirement income gap, when you actually retire and you stop working, that gap is going to widen over time because of inflation, and it's more difficult to make it. So we want to try to get you there and get you in the right spot. Number three is we're going to give you a Social Security maximization report that comes in a form of an RSA a roadmap. I'm a registered social security analyst. The designation is RSA. There's only 15 of us in the state of Georgia, and I'm happy to help you maximize your Social Security income benefit. And then number four, we're going to give you a financial plan for your 95th birthday with your current plan. That has nothing to do with us. And number five is we'll give you a financial plan of your 95th birthday. That also includes a strategic Roth ladder conversion plan. Absolutely at no cost to you. We're going to give you all five of those things. It's a $2,500 value, but because you're a result driver and you listen to retirement results, we're going to give that to you absolutely at no cost to you. And that way you can make an informed financial decision whether you want to work with us or not.

Speaker9:
It's the final countdown.

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

Speaker9:
The final Countdown.

Speaker3:
So today's show we talked about. Hey, it's time to get a financial conversation. We talked about how we can help you with a will or revocable trust or irrevocable trust, and not a lot of money for you. We also talked about why the conversations matter with your family, about your retirement plans, and we also talked about how you can kind of beat back some of this market volatility and get more peace of mind. Hope you enjoyed this show. Remember, if you're seeking information about retirement, if you're going to be a bear, be a grizzly. Reach out to us at retirement Results.com. We're here to help you protect and grow your hard earned and hard saved assets. 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 (770) 685-1777. Seven. 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, BCM, a registered investment Advisor, BCM 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.

Speaker1:
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 disclosures of any conflicts of interest. Please refer to our firm brochure, the Adv2 to item four for additional information.

Speaker2:
Get started on your free portfolio analysis and financial plan right now by visiting retirement Results.com.

Speaker4:
All right. Welcome back to Retirement Results for a bonus segment. This bonus segment is just for our podcast listeners and our new listeners on Wd1, just north of Atlanta. If you missed part of today's show, Retirement Results is available wherever you listen to podcasts, whether that be Spotify or on your iPhone or your Android, go to your favorite podcast app. Just search retirement results. You'll find us. You'll find years of episodes of retirement results with Ford and myself giving lots of great information for you pre-retirees and retirees out there helping you really live the retirement lifestyle that you deserve. And and Ford, we're talking a little bit about smart lifestyle and smart vision on today's show. And one thing that's really important to you is, is spending time with your family. I know you've got twin 18 year old girls. They've been helping us around the Active Wealth Office, helping us with social media, helping welcoming clients when they come to see us for their check ins, or even people who are coming in off the radio show. But, you know, just talk about what that time with family means to you and and having that smart vision before you even get to retirement.

Speaker3:
Yeah, we spell love in our family time. And I shared that at my brother's wedding. I've got a half brother who's 25 years younger than me, and he and I are very close, and I'm a huge fan of his. He's been really successful. He's he's got he's I think he's 32 now and he has three kids. He and his wife Hannah have three kids. Um, my half brother's name is McNeil. He works for a major commercial real estate broker. He. He's, like, one of the top ten commercial real estate brokers in Atlanta. And on the land side, just being a land guy, and that's helped him. I was a little worried about what's going on with commercial real estate and people not working in buildings and things like that. But he's done great. And what I shared in that his rehearsal dinner was we spell love in our family time. And I had one of the bridesmaids who was much younger than me, because I was the old guy in that wedding. Um, she walked up to me and said, I just want you to know, I called my dad right after your speech. It was really cool. And she's like, you know, the Timmy Timmy thing that you shared meant so much to me. And and I want to make sure I'm spending more time with my family from here from this point. And she goes, you know, we we do spend a good amount of time, but I need to do more. And I it was really cool. And so what I'm trying to say in this segment is, hey, do everything you can to spend more time with your family, but specifically plants.

Speaker3:
You're not a burden on others, so you want to make sure you've got a plan so your money will outlive you, not you outliving your money. And also, there's a really great way to downsize. You don't need two houses. You don't need four cars. You don't need, you know, all the the things. Right. And things are going to get less and less important to you over time. We see it all the time. We see people not run out to go get the spring wardrobe and the fall wardrobe every year. They just live in the same clothes. They're fine. They make sure they they wash their clothes, all that stuff. They also go to the dry cleaners a lot less because they're not going into the office. And I you know, I would encourage you strongly to try to get a little more simple with your life, but do a great job at saving. But start out with that positive retirement income surplus, not a negative retirement income gap for your retirement. Sam, your dad came and visited, um, this past week, and y'all did something really cool. You kind of did a staycation where you guys improved your house that you and Bailey are living in. I do think we are all waiting for you to get going on kids. I think that would be helpful. But, uh, no, just saying that, you know, the the world would be a better place when you guys have have kids. You guys are great. Special people. Talk about what it's like to spend that time with your dad and and and all that. I just thought that was really neat.

Speaker4:
Yeah. You know, my wife recently went on a trip to Japan with my in-laws, her family, to help out with the kids while my mother in law ran the Tokyo Marathon. Um, I was back here working with active wealth clients and taking care of responsibilities. And my birthday happened to fall while she was gone. And Bailey felt so bad that she was going to miss my birthday. But, um, you know, I called up my dad, and dad asked me, hey, what do you want to do for your birthday? Are you doing anything special? And I said, you know, it'd be great if we could just spend some time together, hang out around the house. I've got a list of of, I've got a list of things that Bailey wants us to take care of. And I've got a few other projects in mind. And we just spent, you know, 3 or 4 solid days together here in Atlanta going to different hardware stores, Ace Hardware, Home Depot, getting different, you know, parts to fix things, improve things, and make sure that my wife had a beautiful home to come back to when she got back from vacation. And, um, you know, we didn't have to do anything special. You know, I've been going to the hardware store with my dad since I was, you know, holding his hand 3 or 4 years old. And and it's just as enjoyable, if not more enjoyable these days. Um, doing it and building a home together with him and and continuing to learn lessons from from my parents, you know, years later. So I love that message for it. I think it's great for all of our result drivers this week to, you know, call your parents, call your grandparents, spend a little bit more time with your loved ones. And when you're planning for your retirement, and we hope you do give us a call here at Retirement Results or visit our website at retirement Results.com. When you're forming that smart vision, think of your family first, and think of the time you want to spend with your family and and how we can help you do that.

Speaker3:
Amen. I couldn't have said it better myself, and I hope everybody over at WGN and around the lake hope you guys are stay safe on the lake this summer. Um, have a great time at the lake. Um, but let's try to get to peace of mind. Let's try to get to a really good income plan for your retirement. And let's also work hard to protect and grow your hard earned and hard saved wealth, so we can get your money working as hard as you did in earning it and also saving it. Have a great week everybody!

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

Speaker10:
All the old paintings on the tomb, they do the sand dance. Don't you know if they move too quick? They.

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