We want to publicly let our clients know how thankful we are to our staff for the hours they have worked during this transition but most importantly for who they are as people. Our firm is no better than the people that make it up and for that we are blessed. We are blessed to have them represent our company and for their service to you, our clients. We are very grateful for their dedication and desire to serve.

In recognition of this we will be closing at noon tomorrow to allow them to get started celebrating Thanksgiving with those closest to them. We took them away from their families for the last quarter…we felt it was the least we could do to give them another half day to be with family over this very appropriate holiday.

Thank you to our clients for the relationships we have built. We are so grateful for your business and the opportunity we have to serve you. And from Richmond Brothers management team, thank you to our staff who executes our vision each and every day making it come alive and fulfilling our mission. May God continue to bless you and your family this Holiday Season.

Although it’s normal practice for us to analyze clients’ and prospective clients’ assets and project how long they will last into the future, we have to say that we were quite horrified to see a study that found 46% of retirees have not done this. This study, completed by the Society of Actuaries, LIMRA and the International Foundation for Retirement Education, also (not surprisingly) found that retirees who used financial advisers are more financially secure.

There are many tools available to give pre-retirees and retirees a very general guide on how many years their money will last for illustrative purposes. For example, this calculator provides insight on how long your assets might last given specific criteria: http://www.calcxml.com/do/ret06. When using these types of tools, keep in mind that the calculations provided should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice. We highly recommend consulting with a qualified financial professional for an even more accurate view of the complete situation.

With life expectancies continuing to increase, we highly recommend that pre-retirees and retirees engage in this sort of planning to make a better educated decision about their future. None of us want to run out of savings, so being aware of the situation is the first step to having a more secure financial situation.

To read more about the study’s findings, please visit: http://www.plansponsor.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=6442483836. If you know of anyone who might benefit from this information, please feel free to share it with them.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently alerted investors to be cautious of promoters of self-directed IRAs.

If a self-directed IRA is a new term to you, think of it as an IRA with more options. Self-directed IRAs can offer retirement funds in other types of asset classes such as:

• real estate
• promissory notes
• tax lien certificates
• and private placement securities;
• likewise, they also offer more unique risks.

The SEC noted that promoters of fraudulent investments will sometimes explicitly state that a self-directed IRA custodian has done due diligence investigations on the investment, even though that is usually not true. These criminals hope that  investors won’t keep up on monitoring their funds since it is in more of a long-term account that they do not plan to access right away.

So, what steps can you take to avoid fraudulent investments in self-directed IRAs?

• Like any other investment, be wary of investments promising high returns with little risk. As the old saying goes, “if it’s too good to be true, than it probably is.”
• If you receive an unsolicited offer, be careful!
• Verify the information on the self-directed IRA statement.
• Consult with a knowledgeable advisor.

For additional information, click here to read the entire SEC Investor Alert.