I met with a woman yesterday who was recently widowed. She received an insurance payout and felt she could invest it, but was not sure. She told me she had just met with two other financial planners, one had nothing to suggest but an indexed variable annuity. The other gave her an expense summary sheet to complete that consisted of 5 items, asked her what all of her sources of income were, told her she had enough income for the rest of her life, then showed her an indexed annuity.
Wow!
After spending some time getting to know her, I gave her our expense summary, which has about 40 items on it, a confidential profile, a risk questionnaire, and ask her to take some time completing her ‘homework.” When I have all of this date + investment information she left with me, I will complete a comprehensive plan that will take her through age 90, include some inflation, and many other items to determine what investment, if any, these dollars can go to.
Sales or planning – make sure you get what you really need to make life long financial decisions.

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