Money and Retirement Blog

Catch "Money and Retirement Talk" each week on Mile High Sports Radio AM1510, every Saturday at 10:00AM  We will discuss topics such as:

• IRA distribution
• Reducing Taxes
• Protecting IRA beneficiaries
• Protecting Principle
• and much more!

As one of our valued clients, colleagues, or maybe someone just reading this blog, you are reading this for a very important reason. As we continue to experience turmoil in our economy, an unstable stock market, and crashing interest rates, uncertainty about retirement investments and decisions is at an all time high. Unfortunately, many unscrupulous advisors will try to capitalize on the uncertainty to take advantage of you and make a quick buck. I wanted to write this to make sure you understand how much we value our clients and to make sure that our current clients and future clients are protected. Whether you have made the decision or are in process of becoming a client of Mercer Financial Group, Inc., not only did you give us your hard earned money, but you gave us your trust. It’s our job to protect you.

Even though we often host financial workshops and a weekly radio show, you need to be careful because these workshops are often a key tactic that these unscrupulous advisors will use to implement their schemes. Some seminars are packed with inaccuracies and exaggerated claims that are self-serving for the speaker and only tell partial truths.

There is no place in the financial industry for these people, and our industry and state regulators are working hard to eliminate them from our field. Furthermore, many local and national media publications are working hard to expose these criminals. While we caution you that you can’t always believe everything you see or read (remember the GMC truck debacle with NBC?), there are some good suggestions on how you can protect yourself from capitalizing advisors. Here are a few suggestions on how you can protect your hard earned retirement dollars. Please review these and feel free to share them with any of your friends or family that are in the process of making important retirement or financial decisions, and as always, feel free to call us if we can help in any way.

• Do your research before you invest or buy. Check with the Better Business Bureau, National Ethics Bureau, State Insurance Department and FINRA (if they are securities licensed) to get a background on the advisor or agent.
• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Make sure you understand the positives AND negatives of any financial vehicle. Every financial vehicle has a designed purpose, make sure that purpose works for your individual needs and goals.
• If you feel pressured, or if somebody tries to sell you something the first time you meet, RUN, don’t walk away.
• Ask them if you can bring other family members, or other trusted advisors like your CPA or Attorney with you to the appointment.
• Call us for a second opinion. Since we are in this industry every day, we often see the scams and schemes long before you do and can help you sift through the good and the bad. Furthermore, we are more than happy to meet with any of your friends or family members to help them make good decisions.

Remember, our firm believes that safety of principal should be the foundation for any decision for retirees. The products we recommend the most are protected from market losses, offer multiple liquidity options, can guarantee lifetime income and offer returns that have the potential to outpace inflation. In these uncertain times, we have found these key ingredients form a great recipe for our clients and their referrals.

Below you will find important contact information to verify any advisor or agent you may have been approached by.

I hope the fact that we wrote this doesn’t alarm you, but the fact that there are people that may try to take advantage of you does not make us comfortable and we want to make sure we do everything we can to protect our trusted clients and our future clients. We feel a moral obligation to notify you that our industry has unscrupulous advisors working in it, and if we can help just one client make a good decision by writing this blog, it was well worth it.

Should you have any questions or concerns about any advisor that has approached you, please give us a call and we’ll schedule a time to sit down and visit. Also, as always, if you appreciate what we have been able to do for you, please remember to not keep us a secret. We would love to help your friends and family members enjoy financial peace of mind in retirement.

Sincerely,

Mercer Financial Group, Inc.

Important Phone Numbers to Check on a Financial Advisor or Agent:

Denver Better Business Bureau: 303.758.2100

National Ethics Bureau: 800.282.1831

Colorado Department of Insurance: 303.894.7499

FINRA Broker Check Hotline (Regulator of Securities Firms): 800.289.9999