Hi, My name is Judy Schneider and I live in the Chicago area, and it's my pleasure to recommend my own personal Fee Only Fiduciary Financial Advisor and Certified Comprehensive Financial Planner, Kerry O'Brien.
(I should mention Kerry is also an Enrolled Agent with the IRS and well qualified to file my tax returns each year.)
I hired Kerry in late summer of 2022, and came to be connected with her in a rather unusual way.
It happened on the heels of a bad experience I had with a former financial broker from a well known nationwide financial firm.
That was the first time in my life I had ever used a broker/financial advisor of any kind. I had recently sold my house in a suburb of Chicago, and wanted advice what to do with the proceeds of the sale because the money was still sitting in a savings account losing to inflation.
This broker had been in the business over 30 years and he was referred me by my dearest friend and her husband.
So I went to this broker/advisor who set up my retirement investments in spring of 2021.
He ended up getting fired beginning of 2022 from his financial firm, losing his license and getting sued.
I felt shaken to the core, details regarding the lawsuit against him are published on the FINRA site, my friends were just as shocked as I was because they trusted him too.
This former broker had taken financial advantage of his elderly client (upon which the lawsuit was based). Well I'm already in my mid 60s and can't afford have someone try rip me off for my nest egg either.
After that I didn't know where to turn, I lost faith in people who call themselves "financial advisors" as this broker did, and was hesitant to try to find someone else who also calls themselves a financial advisor, but whom I have no reason to trust if I really stopped to think about it.
Before this bad experience I had been under the impression we can trust someone who calls themselves a financial advisor, until I began reading researching and learned the term "financial advisor" is thrown around loosely by people in the financial world.
The more I read, the more I realized how little I know which just furthered my fear because I'm not educated enough in financial matters to pick the right, trustworthy person to help me.
I already work full-time in my own profession as a software engineer and simply don't have time to go back to school to learn all the ins and outs of financial business, just so that I can try prevent someone from taking advantage of me.
I also didn't want to keep my retirement investments at this former financial brokerage firm because by now, I had grown suspicious over the investments he had set up for me.
I knew I had to do something, I had to act fast.
It was then I thought of Terry Savage (of WGN Chicago), because she's a financial advocate, an activist really, a mover and shaker and revered for standing up for people especially the little guy.
I knew I could trust Terry, so I tried reaching out to her (through her AskTerry site where folks can post questions.)
To my surprise and relief she answered me, and after briefly explaining my situation she did a whole lot more than just answer my question in email.
We got on the phone, and after showing Terry the investments this former broker set up for me, she immediately pointed out they were completely inappropriate for somebody my age in their 60s!
(So my gut was right, that broker put my nest egg at risk for someone my age, but I'll bet he made a nice commission. I felt angry.)
I knew I could trust whomever Terry told me I can trust, and she put me in touch with Wealthramp.org, (an organization by Pam Krueger, close associate of Terry).
I was connected to Kerry O'Brien through
Wealthramp.org, and after interviewing Kerry and hiring her, the rest is history.
Kerry has been my Fee Only Fiduciary Financial Advisor and Certified Comprehensive Financial Planner ever since. It was the smartest decision I made, has brought me relief and peace of mind.
I learned Pam Krueger personally vets each Fee Only Fiduciary Financial Advisor and Certified Comprehensive Financial Planner before bringing them onboard onto Wealthramp.org.
This is a great organization because there is no way I would know how to interview such a person nor what questions to ask since I'm not educated in financial business myself. Someone could tell me anything and I could be lead to believe them.
So basically, Wealthramp.org is a means by which the public can find a vetted, highly educated, qualified and experienced Fee Only Fiduciary Financial Advisor and Certified Comprehensive Financial Planner.
I've gotten quite an education from Terry and Wealthramp.org, and this is why I've chosen Kerry O'Brien as my personal Fee Only Fiduciary Advisor and Certified Comprehensive Financial Planner, here is what I learned:
#1.
A Financial Broker is not a Financial Advisor.
Brokers work for a broker dealer.
(I didn't know the difference before this.)
#2.
Even if someone claims they are a Financial Advisor but they are employed by a brokerage firm, then that is still a conflict of interest because they are being paid by the brokerage firm or being paid in commissions for steering their client's money into incentivized investments.
So this type of Financial Advisor's first allegiance is going to be, has to be, to their employer/brokerage firm, or to the investment company, versus what it should be which is to what is in the best interest of their client.
I learned there is only one category of Financial Advisor which is truly trustworthy, and must always put what is in the best interest of their client first, and that is a Fee Only Fiduciary Financial Advisor.
(Terry Savage constantly harps on this.)
People should know no one works for free, for my own peace of mind (especially after the bad experience), I'd rather pay my Fee Only Fiduciary Financial Advisor directly and know I'm not being sold something or lied to. Fee only Fiduciary Financial Advisors are held to the highest most stringent standards in the U.S.
#3.
Although some folks may feel comfortable enough venturing out on their own with no Financial Advisor at all to represent or guide them, by going to Vanguard or Schwab or TD Ameritrade or T. Rowe Price to set up their own investment accounts, this wasn't for me.
I would probably choose the wrong investments and lose part or all of my nest egg, or keep it all in cash to be safe, thus losing to inflation.
#4.
I knew I needed help investing my retirement nest egg appropriately for someone my age, and managing my cash flow to put the money in the right place for the right flow, with some handholding and with attention to taxes and Medicare.
In other words, I needed a Full Service Certified Comprehensive Financial Planner.
I would not find that level of help by venturing out on my own with Vanguard or Schwab or TD Ameritrade or T. Rowe Price.
#5.
I learned the difference between Fee Only and Fee Based advisors.
Terry Savage always advises her readers to seek a Fee Only advisor.
Since Fee Based advisors are still motivated to earn commissions by selling their clients certain products, once again this presents a conflict of interest, exactly what I was trying get away from because this by definition can not be in the best interest of the client.
The most straightforward, honest business arrangement one can have with their Financial Advisor, is that of a Fee Only Fiduciary Financial Advisor, who are bound by the most stringent standards and require a binding legal and ethical fiduciary agreement between advisor and client.
"Financial advisors" who are not true fiduciaries, use what's called the "Suitability Standard".
That is to say they're obliged to sell their clients something which is suitable, but that is not the same thing as what is in the best interest of their client. There's quite a difference.
Some financial advisors will not come out and admit that they are not operating under the fiduciary duty to their client. But there is a way to flush them out.
Terry Savage advises folks out here who believe their in financial advisor is a true fiduciary, to ask that advisor if they would be willing to sign a piece of paper which states they are operating under the fiduciary duty to their client, and to state they are not earning commissions are getting compensated in another way.
Almost guaranteed that individual will not sign thst piece of paper.
What should that tell us?
Why I chose Kerry:
Kerry is a highly skilled, educated and experienced Fee Only Fiduciary Advisor and Certified Comprehensive Financial Planner.
It's also a comfort to me she is younger because I expect she will outlive me, so that I won't be put in the position of being elderly and losing her only to have to find someone new to start building trust again.
But it's not enough to be highly skilled, educated and experienced, because Kerry also possesses excellent communication skills and the sensitivities required to be successful in this kind of work, she is a very good listener and passionate about what she does.
In the beginning, Kerry had me fill out an in-depth questionnaire to learn about my risk tolerance, so that she could best advise me.
Then over a period of time, as I grew to trust Kerry more she was able to make further financial suggestions that she felt would be in my best interest, and so later after getting over my bad experience I was able to listen to Kerry and take her good advice when I was ready.
As I look at where I'm at today compared to the financial broker debacle first half of 2022, I'm in a much better place now.
Not just financially but also mentally as it's all connected, my mental state has improved, stress levels have dropped, I can sleep better at night, I don't think about money all the time, or worry with that sinking feeling in my stomach about how much money a non-fiduciary financial advisor/broker is ripping me off for, what they're hiding from me. I totally prefer things be out in the open.
Trust is everything when it comes to your money, it means your survival in old age especially for unmarried women with no spouse and second income.
I half jokingly told Kerry that what I worried about most as I age, is basically Maslow's hierarchy of needs - having enough good quality food to eat and living in a safe neighborhood.
But I wasn't really joking and Kerry understood it was a real concern. She assured me that she will do everything she can to make sure to address those concerns. I believe her, I know she will make her best faith effort. That's everything. There's not much more I could ask.
There is no such thing as a best faith effort with a non-fiduciary financial advisor or a broker. Unless perhaps you're their mother.
I wholeheartedly endorse Kerry O'Brien.
Based on my bad experience, I think many if not most Americans are still in the dark about the pitfalls and ripoffs of brokers and non-fiduciary financial advisors.
I've also read that unfortunately there's not a lot of government oversight so consumers are at risk if they don't know what to look for, and this is something Terry Savage and Pam Krueger have been trying to change starting with educating the public.
I feel if more people knew about the inherent consumer risk in the world of brokers/financial advisors, they would want to drop them and migrate over to exclusively relying on Fee Only Fiduciary Financial Advisors.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, I hope this helps the readers out there.
(I might also recommend if you haven't yet, reading Terry Savage's online articles were folks from all over write her with their financial questions.)
Judy Schneider
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