Have you been to a Free Dinner Retirement Event lately? My firm offers these Free Dinner Events regularly.   It is my way of meeting nice people who are interested in what we do as a firm and learning how I might can help them. The invitations target those individuals who are nearing retirement age or already in retirement. Through these events, I often meet couples and individuals looking just for someone like myself who can answer their questions, and ease their mind about one question in particular, “when is the right time to retire?” I always open our Retirement Roundtable Event with a brief introduction of my firm and my staff; who we are, how we started, and how long we have been around. I then go around the room and let our guests introduce themselves and tell us why they came. I always joke at this point and tell them even if they came just for the free meal, to please make up something else to say. They always laugh and come up with some reason, usually it is a real need for advice on retirement issues, and who they should trust to be their advisor, or if they are on the right track. These Roundtable Events most always go well. They each take on their own form. Most of the time, our guests are very inquisitive and ask those important questions that everyone else is wondering about. Everyone’s questions and comments are educational to the other guests, and of course I am there with 30 plus years of experience of working with retirees and their families.   I try to answer their questions and put their mind at ease with real life scenarios and experiences. These events are always appreciated and very well attended.

I recently read an article that made me feel very good about our free dinner events and the value that my firm has to offer retirees. The article was printed in the Wealth Management Magazine, September 2018 issue, and is titled “My Life as a client – Free Dinners, Bad Advice” by Walt Eldredge. Mr Eldredge attended a free dinner event where the advisor talked about their quality control standards and how they evaluated their fund managers. Eldredge along with several others from his company were very impressed with this advisor, and began working with him. After a year and half with this advisor, Eldredge was encouraged to buy some international CDs that had a lot of tax advantages and were getting a better percent than other CDs, which he did. Turned out, it was a Ponzi scheme. He soon got a letter from authorities stating that someone had been appointed by the court to oversee the mess. His assets were frozen, but luckily he had assets other places. Some of his co-workers lost their homes. The head of the firm disappeared with about 20 percent of his assets and finally went to prison.

That is a scary story that no one wants to have happen to them. That is the reason to choose to work with someone who has been in the community offering advisory services for a number of years. My firm has offered services in the Tri-Cities area since 1966. It is also a reason to work with someone who has proven to give sound advice, watches market trends, and monitors portfolios regularly to be your advisor.   My firm and I offer excellent service and sound advice with our All-Seasons Core Strategy that is built to withstand the ups and downs of the market. We do not recommend get-rich-quick opportunities that are here today and gone tomorrow. If you would like to attend one of our Retirement Roundtable Events or if we can help you in any other way with your retirement needs, feel free to contact us at 423-247-1152. We will be happy to hear from you and do our best to serve your needs.