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HAVE YOU BEEN STEREOTYPED BY YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR?

Have you ever heard the following?

  • You should be fine withdrawing 4% annually from your investments in retirement.
  • It doesn’t make sense to pay off your mortgage when the interest is tax-deductible and you can get a better return by investing your money.
  • Take social security as soon as you can so you don’t have to withdraw from the money you have worked so hard to save. Besides, you never know what is going to happen with social security.
  • It is better to take a lump sum from your pension plan than to take monthly payments.
  • When you’re young you should invest aggressively and become more conservative as you get older.

If so, you have likely been stereotyped. When an advisor stereotypes an investor, they’re not seeing the investor as an individual with a unique appetite for risk, a unique set of financial circumstances, and a unique set of goals. Sure, there are some things common to all investors - such as taxes, inflation, living expenses, and health care. But using only common assumptions and taking common advice without a detailed financial plan that is specific to YOU exposes you and your family to financial failure.

Let’s take, for example, the last statement. In actuality, everyone has an individual tolerance regarding risk and reward that is not necessarily dictated by age. When a person is invested incorrectly, they panic during market swings, buying high and selling low, which can negatively affect their long term goals. This will happen again and again until the investor corrects their investment strategy – or fires their investment advisor. I want to empower you to recognize and react to stereotypical advice. If you are looking for advice that is truly in your best interest, call us at 256-417-4870

Mike

Mike Mickels is the President and Chief Compliance Officer of CochranMickels Retirement Specialists, LLC and an avid sporting clay competitor. CochranMickels Retirement Specialists provides personalized planning and investment services to individuals approaching and in retirement. CochranMickels Retirement Specialists, LLC is a registered investment adviser. This platform is solely for informational purposes. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where CochranMickels Retirement Specialists, LLC and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. As a registered investment advisory firm, we are restricted from posting, publishing or otherwise disclosing any form of testimonial which is related to our investment advisory services. Links to websites and other resources operated by third parties are provided as information only, and there can be no assurance as to its accuracy, suitability or completeness. CochranMickels Retirement Specialists, LLC does not endorse, authorize or sponsor the content or its respective sponsors and is in no way responsible for third party content, services, products or information, or for the collection or use of information regarding the web site’s users and/or members.