Excel in Retirement

Often people attempt to guess at what will cause the next market correction, and sometimes we are taken off guard. Things like September 11th happen or the Coronavirus. Nobody saw those events coming, and they caused a major downturn in the market. These are commonly referred to as “black swan” events.

This year is different. We’ve seen this recession coming. The government announced last year that the Fed would begin increasing interest rates and decreasing its balance sheet. The government bought bonds and equities and lowered rates during the pandemic to stabilize the economy. In hindsight, the government did too much of these things and it has caused inflation to reach 40-year highs. Something had to be done to decrease prices, so rate increases were prescribed by Fed policy makers.

We recently saw the biggest rate increase we’ve had in 20 years and some people are left wondering, will the Fed go too far in pushing rates up? It feels like this is a controlled burn and the government is facilitating a potential recession, which is unlike anything we’ve seen in the recent past. The issue is the government doesn’t have many choices about how to deal with surging inflation.

 So, how do we create retirement income plans when we know things will happen along the way that we can’t control? We preface any conversation with the fact that we know we will have down years in the market, but historically, the market has always gone up over time.

Next, we know in order to not be a speculator in the market, we have to have time in the market to allow for our values to increase and to be earned in the long-term. We set up two buckets.

One bucket is in the market and our goal is to advise our clients to not touch this bucket and allow it to appreciate. We seek a modest return, because if we are batting for the fences, we unnecessarily increase our risk.

Then we have a bucket of money that can only go up. It can’t decrease. We illustrate to grow less than it typically will and we draw income from this bucket that can’t lose value.

Once this bucket is depleted, we can replenish it with our other bucket that has grown. With our approach we are diversified, we have decreased risks, and our clients don’t have to wonder if they’ll have income money.

When is the right to take action on creating a retirement income plan? It’s like most things in life. When we have new knowledge and we can act it’s often appropriate to execute as soon as possible. This year it’s even more true because waiting may increase your risk of continual losses.

 Investment advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM). AEWM and Clients Excel, LLC are not affiliated companies. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Any references to protection, safety, or lifetime income, generally refer to fixed insurance products, never securities or investments. Insurance guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying abilities of the insuring carrier. This podcast is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet particular needs of an individual’s situation. Clients Excel is not permitted to offer and no statement made during this show shall constitute tax or legal advice. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. The information and opinions contained herein provided by third parties have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Clients Excel. The use of logos and/or trademarks of podcast hosting sites are the property of their respective owners and are not an endorsement by those owners of our firm or our program.

Shortly after the turn of the century a doctor named Gordon Lithgow in the UK coined a new term. Seeking to distinguish between the years we are healthy and functional and our actual lifespan he began using the word “healthspan.”

Dr. Peter Attia defines longevity using two things. He says lifespan is how long we live and healthspan is how well we live. Within healthspan he states there are three dimensions. There is the cognitive dimension, the physical dimension or your ability to carry out activities of daily living, and the third is our emotional dimension, which he admits is harder to quantify.

The thought process surrounding our healthspan is important to contemplate because we obviously want our healthspan to correspond with our lifespan. If you’d like to learn more about this concept, check out Dr. Attia’s website. He has a practice focused on longevity. I’ve found his insights helpful. Click here to go to his website.

The S&P 500 is down nearly 13% this year while the technology heavy NASDAQ is down over 20% this year. Years like these typically attract investors to bonds, but with interest rates going up, bond values are down also. The S&P US Aggregate Bond Index is down 8.42% this year.
I happened to be on call awhile back with a financial advisor named David Moore. He created an index that adheres to rules that the S&P 500 index was designed to follow.

The S&P 500 was created in 1957. It was supposed to only have US stocks in the index and the companies were supposed to have positive earnings for the past four quarters. These things aren’t happening any longer. To further cause issues, larger companies have a larger weighting. So, if one of the large companies has a bad earnings report it may cause the whole market to experience volatility.

Moore’s index is comprised of only US companies, and twice per year companies are removed from the index that have not maintained positive earnings. The companies are also equally weighed.  

With Moore’s index, each of the stocks are weighted equally. The result when it comes to stocks is less volatility because one company does not have an outsized influence. Year-to-date Moore’s index is up 1.13%.  If you’d like to learn more about this, please let us know. You can reach me by calling 864.641.7955.

 Investment advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM). AEWM and Clients Excel, LLC are not affiliated companies. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Any references to protection, safety, or lifetime income, generally refer to fixed insurance products, never securities or investments. Insurance guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying abilities of the insuring carrier. This podcast is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet particular needs of an individual’s situation. Clients Excel is not permitted to offer and no statement made during this show shall constitute tax or legal advice. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. The information and opinions contained herein provided by third parties have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Clients Excel. The use of logos and/or trademarks of podcast hosting sites are the property of their respective owners and are not an endorsement by those owners of our firm or our program.

So, you’re considering retiring, and maybe you’re wondering how to go about ensuring you have your ducks in a row. I’ll share some actionable tips for how you can make informed decisions about how to begin the retirement planning process. I’ll share with you part one of the steps we walk through with our clients and next week I’ll share the second half of our process.

Senator  Portman stated a few years ago that 10k Baby Boomers retire every day in a Wall Street Journal article. The goal with any financial planning in retirement should start with attempting to help you avoid common pitfalls that you may encounter along the way. With our clients we start with the question, “How much money does it take to pay your bills each month?” If you don’t know this number, this is step one. The next area we help our clients with is determining how to get the most out of their Social Security Benefits. This decision can result in a difference of literally hundreds of thousands of dollars.

We then consider our client’s healthcare needs. Then we consider long-term care. The government states that 70% of us will need long-term care but what we find is most long-term care products are not palatable because they are “use or lose it” type scenarios.

The other topics we discuss with our clients include what we can do to lessen the risk of a sequence of returns issue. If you experience a significant loss right before you retire or right after you retire it may be a problem.

Economist  Tom Hegna states that longevity is a risk multiplier. If we pass away four or five years into retirement it does not matter when we take Social Security or how much of our investment portfolio we are withdrawing because we only had a few years to plan for. 

We then look for ways to ultimately lessen their taxes in retirement. Most people today have used tax-deferred savings vehicles like 401Ks or 403Bs to save for retirement. Finally, we believe in the power of diversity. If we are only using equities, bonds or insurance products, we may be disappointed when the economy experiences a hardship. We don’t use one financial product at the exclusion of others. We seek to be holistic and comprehensive in our approach. If you’ve found this guide helpful, please let me know.

Investment advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM). AEWM and Clients Excel, LLC are not affiliated companies. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Any references to protection, safety, or lifetime income, generally refer to fixed insurance products, never securities or investments. Insurance guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying abilities of the insuring carrier. This podcast is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet particular needs of an individual’s situation. Clients Excel is not permitted to offer and no statement made during this show shall constitute tax or legal advice. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. The information and opinions contained herein provided by third parties have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Clients Excel. The use of logos and/or trademarks of podcast hosting sites are the property of their respective owners and are not an endorsement by those owners of our firm or our program.

I enjoy a well thought out plan of execution, and I’m lucky because Mallory, my wife, does as well. The pain with this mentality is that we tend to analyze things and come up with a game plan, then re-examine all the possible scenarios. At any rate, we tend to go into things wide-eyed. 

I haven’t always been this meticulous. In my teens and twenties, I enjoyed saying “yes” to new opportunities. It was easy to be spontaneous when you had limited bills and felt invisible. Why not jump off that cliff into the lake or ride that motorcycle, right?

In my twenties, I lived in Colorado for a couple of years, and my buddy, Chris, was out for the summer visiting. We had done a lot of hiking and camping together in Virginia, where I went to college, and naturally did a fair amount of hiking that summer in Colorado. One of the crown jewels of outdoor activities in Colorado is hiking to the top of 14,000 foot mountains. There are 54 mountain peaks in Colorado that are 14,000 feet or taller. I think I conquered five or six of them. More continued in show...

One area that I see where people could use a little extra planning is estate planning, so that they are not caught on the proverbial mountain with no water. Nobody wants to plan their demise, but having proper legal documents in place in the event that you are incapacitated or you pass away is important. I am not an attorney, but we have strategic partners that we refer our clients to assist with estate planning.

A will that goes over how your assets should be distributed is a key to ensuring that your wishes happen after you pass away. Having a healthcare and financial power of attorney is helpful if you are in the unfortunate situation of being incapacitated while you are still alive. I have sat in the hospital with a family member that did not have a healthcare power of attorney when a social worker came to visit. At that point, the pressure was put on me and other family members to decide how that person may want their end-of-life decisions made. I do not, personally, want anyone else to have to make those decisions for me. That is why we have elected to have estate planning documents drafted. We do not want to neglect this important detail.

I know this subject may be a little morbid but it is one topic that I have often seen placed on the back burner. If you have questions about estate planning or would like to be connected with an attorney outside of our office to discuss your particular situation, please give us a call at 864.641.7955.

Investment advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM). AEWM and Clients Excel, LLC are not affiliated companies. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Any references to protection, safety, or lifetime income, generally refer to fixed insurance products, never securities or investments. Insurance guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying abilities of the insuring carrier. This podcast is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet particular needs of an individual’s situation. Clients Excel is not permitted to offer and no statement made during this show shall constitute tax or legal advice. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. The information and opinions contained herein provided by third parties have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Clients Excel. The use of logos and/or trademarks of podcast hosting sites are the property of their respective owners and are not an endorsement by those owners of our firm or our program.

A couple weeks ago rates went up by a quarter point, and Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, recently said nothing will stop the government from increasing rates by a half a point in May. The expectation is that if the economy tolerates it, rates may go up six times this year.

First Trust, a portfolio manager, stated in their March 18th commentary that home sales had declined in February by 7.2% and were down 2.4% compared to last year. Real estate is one of the first places that see the impact of rising interest rates because the cost to borrow often increases.

The commentary stated, “Despite affordability issues there is still significant pent-up demand, with buyer urgency so strong in February that 84% of existing homes sold were on the market for less than a month. The combination of strong demand and sparse supply has pushed median prices up 15.0% in the past year, but the good news is that price gains have decelerated since hitting a year-to-year gain of 23.6% in May. Put it all together and we do not foresee any sort of collapse in home sales even with higher mortgage rates.”

So, did the interest rates medicine work so far? It seems to have when it comes to real estate. Obviously, there are other considerations to take into account, and this is only one example. My takeaway is we are in a “wait and see” pattern when it comes to the next rate increase in May. Expect unease in the market this year because the market does not like uncertainty, so we may continue to see a market that can’t find its footing as has been the case this year.

If you’re wondering if your accounts are properly allocated for what’s happening with current events, we will run a complimentary report for you outlining the statistical probability of how your accounts may perform over the next six months. If we do nothing else for you, we’d be happy to run this report for you. Just call our office at 864.641.7955. 

Investment advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM). AEWM and Clients Excel, LLC are not affiliated companies. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Any references to protection, safety, or lifetime income, generally refer to fixed insurance products, never securities or investments. Insurance guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying abilities of the insuring carrier. This podcast is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet particular needs of an individual’s situation. Clients Excel is not permitted to offer and no statement made during this show shall constitute tax or legal advice. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. The information and opinions contained herein provided by third parties have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Clients Excel. The use of logos and/or trademarks of podcast hosting sites are the property of their respective owners and are not an endorsement by those owners of our firm or our program.

If you’ve been following the news, you may have started hearing the term “stagflation” being tossed around, so I thought I’d share what it is and tease this concept out. We haven’t had to consider this term since the 1970s, and back then the average Baby Boomer was just getting out of school and entering the workforce. 

The lexicon definition is, “persistent high inflation combined with high unemployment and stagnant demand in a country’s economy.” The good news is we don’t have it yet, but market analysts are beginning to warn of the possibility of stagflation happening.   

Here is a practical example of how it may become a problem. Denmark has warned that their economy may be impacted by stagflation if Russian oil imports were to end. This would theoretically cause oil prices to be inflated, productivity would slow, and jobs may go away. “The crisis will not pull the rug from underneath the Danish economy, but Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine will take a toll on growth,” the Danish Finance Minister Nicolai Wammen said according to Bloomberg News.

The challenge is to tame inflation and in America, the government needs to raise interest rates. We saw a small 0.25% increase last week, but at least one Federal Reserve governor is saying that wasn’t enough. Jerome Powell, the head of the Fed has said the government may raise rates six times this year, but James Bullard, who is on the board of the Federal Reserve, says it’s not enough. Bullard says the government should be looking at raising rates twelve times this year.

But here’s the problem. If interest rates move too quickly, it will slow economic output. Raising rates may be one of the few things the government can do, so how does this apply to you? Market Watch had a recent article that opened with, “Rising stagflation risks in the U.S. and Europe are raising the possibility of a ‘lost decade’ for the 60/40 portfolio mix of stocks and bonds, historically seen as a reliable investing choice for those with moderate risk appetites.”

Investment advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM). AEWM and Clients Excel, LLC are not affiliated companies. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Any references to protection, safety, or lifetime income, generally refer to fixed insurance products, never securities or investments. Insurance guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying abilities of the insuring carrier. This podcast is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet particular needs of an individual’s situation. Clients Excel is not permitted to offer and no statement made during this show shall constitute tax or legal advice. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. The information and opinions contained herein provided by third parties have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Clients Excel. The use of logos and/or trademarks of podcast hosting sites are the property of their respective owners and are not an endorsement by those owners of our firm or our program.

Many of us are left hoping for the best this year when it comes to the market. The Nasdaq is down nearly 18% this year and the S&P 500 is down close to 12%. When I’m talking with people, I normally ask how they are feeling about the market. The overall sentiment I get is, “we’re hoping for the best.”

If when I went to the foul line when I was playing basketball and I had known I was going to make the basket, I would have loved it. That known outcome would have been a relief, and I could have had greater confidence in my ability to win at basketball. 

Many of us are left hoping for the best this year when it comes to the market. The Nasdaq is down nearly 18% this year and the S&P 500 is down close to 12%. When I’m talking with people, I normally ask how they are feeling about the market. The overall sentiment I get is, “we’re hoping for the best.”  If when I went to the foul line when I was playing basketball and I had known I was going to make the basket, I would have loved it. That known outcome would have been a relief, and I could have had greater confidence in my ability to win at basketball  When it comes to investing, we normally don’t have known outcomes, but there are some types of insurance vehicles that do have these known elements. People tend to gravitate to safety in times like these when the economy is volatile.

We want balance in our approach and to not use one type of product at the exclusion of others. With that said, when we are within five years of using a segment of our money, we believe the bucket of money we are using for income should remain somewhat consistent.  We would be better off taking income from a bucket of money that we know will be in place for us. Right now, there are three places we can put money to do this.  We can use the bank, but our money isn’t productive. We can use bonds, but we don’t want to do that when interest rates are going up like they are this year. When interest rates go up bond values go down. So, where’s the best place? We use fixed annuities for our income bucket. With a fixed annuity your money is going to be there no matter what which may bring peace of mind in markets like we are having this year.  I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have on what I’ve covered here. You can reach us at 864.641.7955.  

Investment advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM). AEWM and Clients Excel, LLC are not affiliated companies. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Any references to protection, safety, or lifetime income, generally refer to fixed insurance products, never securities or investments. Insurance guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying abilities of the insuring carrier. This podcast is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet particular needs of an individual’s situation. Clients Excel is not permitted to offer and no statement made during this show shall constitute tax or legal advice. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. The information and opinions contained herein provided by third parties have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Clients Excel. The use of logos and/or trademarks of podcast hosting sites are the property of their respective owners and are not an endorsement by those owners of our firm or our program.

The Wall Street Journal ran a headline on Monday this week that read, U.S. Retirement Funds, Heavy on Stocks, Brace for Losses. It said, “A sustained downturn could squeeze state and local government budgets.” Article here

While pensions have been slowly phased out from most workplaces, many governments are still using them. But most pensions today are a far cry from how they were originally used. The first issue came about when employers began putting the burden of retirement readiness on employees in the last 1970s.

Congress passed a law in 1978 that allowed for a tax-deferred 401k. Employers thought it was a great thing because they were no longer responsible for paying an indefinite amount of lifetime income to their employees in retirement, and the employees could buy the company’s own stock in some cases. This was a double win for employers.

A pension manager used to look at a hundred-year swath of time and he or she could plot out boom and bust cycles. This is not as easy to do anymore because the government does things like keep interest rates artificially low for years on end.

Pensions are interest rate sensitive and must have normalized rates to work properly. For the better part of the last twenty years interest rates have been ultralow, so it has made generating a sure income for retirees with pensions a challenging proposition. This is the second major challenge pension systems have today.

What have governments done to compensate? They started using risk assets like equities. When equities are used, the value of the underlying portfolio fluctuates with the market. Then, how well funded the pension system is depends on ho

As a society we have experienced one challenge after another the last few years. I highlight the issues with pensions because I know that this impacts many of our clients and readers and my goal as an advisor is to help you avoid pitfalls that stand between you and a successful retirement. And we can’t do that if we are not informed of challenges. We want to be cognizant of these things because this may inform how our other accounts are allocated.

If you have a question about anything covered here, please reach out to me by calling our office at 864.641.7955. I would be happy to share with you how we help mitigate against risks in retirement.

Investment advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM). AEWM and Clients Excel, LLC are not affiliated companies. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Any references to protection, safety, or lifetime income, generally refer to fixed insurance products, never securities or investments. Insurance guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying abilities of the insuring carrier. This podcast is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet particular needs of an individual’s situation. Clients Excel is not permitted to offer and no statement made during this show shall constitute tax or legal advice. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. The information and opinions contained herein provided by third parties have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Clients Excel. The use of logos and/or trademarks of podcast hosting sites are the property of their respective owners and are not an endorsement by those owners of our firm or our program.

Given the level of economic uncertainty we are experiencing this year you may be wondering if there is a better way to handle your retirement. Below, I’ll share with you how we are helping our clients.

When it comes to making sure our retirement plans are in order there seems to be a lot of people asking, “Is there a better way?” The volatility level in the markets ratcheted up this past week as Russia began its assault on Ukraine.

The timing of Vladimir Putin’s attacks seems to eerily coincide with our government’s stated timeline of increasing interest rates and ending the economic stimulus plans that began when COVID began in 2020. The new war further complicates our government’s ability to rein in inflationary pressure.

Our reduction on monetary easing is one of the leading reasons for the correction territory markets are in now. We were expecting market gyrations to continue in March before the conflict arose.

The question now becomes how will the Federal Reserve move with the Russian / Ukrainian uncertainty? The head of the Fed will have eyes directed on him as he testifies before Congress twice this week.

When it comes to timing the market or making predictions about what may happen, we should exercise caution in listening or following advice like this. But what our clients can rest on in their retirement plan is that we have different buckets performing different functions. 

In retirement we advise using your money in the market as a long-term seldom touched resource that is eventually used to replenish your income bucket. Time in the market is the leading indicator of success when it comes to being in the market.

What we are trying to avoid is tapping into positions that are depressed due to market losses. If your plan has you using your money that is down, you run the risk of this bucket running out sooner than it otherwise would.

We design an income bucket to help our clients establish a method of creating retirement income. This bucket productively grows their money, and they also have the ability to know it will be there and ready for them to draw it down over time. With our process our goal is for our clients to be insulated when news of war starting or a bombing or black swan event occurs.

It’s fulfilling helping people ensure their retirement planning house is in good order. If you have a question about something I’ve covered here or would like to discuss your situation, please call us at 864.641.7955.

Investment advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM). AEWM and Clients Excel, LLC are not affiliated companies. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Any references to protection, safety, or lifetime income, generally refer to fixed insurance products, never securities or investments. Insurance guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying abilities of the insuring carrier. This podcast is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet particular needs of an individual’s situation. Clients Excel is not permitted to offer and no statement made during this show shall constitute tax or legal advice. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. The information and opinions contained herein provided by third parties have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Clients Excel. The use of logos and/or trademarks of podcast hosting sites are the property of their respective owners and are not an endorsement by those owners of our firm or our program.

The rout in the markets continues. According to the Monday edition of the Morning Brew newsletter, the Nasdaq is down over thirteen percent, the S&P is down nearly nine percent, and the Dow is down six percent this year.

Ongoing expectation that the government will increase interest rates soon and end the bond purchasing program it started during 2020 is part of the reason for the pullback.

The government recently released the inflation numbers and stated that inflation was seven percent last year. Suddenly, the hundred-dollar bill you have in the bank is worth ninety-three dollars.

Then the incessant talk about Russia invading Ukraine isn’t good for the markets. The market grows in times of predictability and we have a lot of uncertainty this year.  

With these three major issues persisting, this is a great time to ensure that your portfolio is optimized for times like these. The value of a second opinion can’t be understated. And as we saw last week in the newsletter, if the strategy is “Hold on, hold on, it’ll come back,” that’s insufficient to create steady retirement income.

I’d be happy to speak with you about your specific situation and help you gain an understanding of how your money is working if that’s needed or answer questions you may have. Our desire for each of our clients is to have as much peace of mind as possible. When you’re ready, call our office at 864.641.7955.

Investment advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM). AEWM and Clients Excel, LLC are not affiliated companies. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Any references to protection, safety, or lifetime income, generally refer to fixed insurance products, never securities or investments. Insurance guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying abilities of the insuring carrier. This podcast is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet particular needs of an individual’s situation. Clients Excel is not permitted to offer and no statement made during this show shall constitute tax or legal advice. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. The information and opinions contained herein provided by third parties have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Clients Excel. The use of logos and/or trademarks of podcast hosting sites are the property of their respective owners and are not an endorsement by those owners of our firm or our program.