Based on my experience, financially illiterate widows are fertile ground for brokers/advisors.
My parents had a Smith Barney acct. After my father died >20yrs ago, the advisor presented my mother with an impressive, dazzling gold-embossed folder for their "MDA-Zero" acct. with exorbitant fees that would "take good care of my mother's investments/financial security".
I was able to steer her to Vanguard. If I wasn't involved, that broker would have hit the jackpot "taking good care" of my mother.
Anyone with a financially illiterate spouse should share the OP's concern: how to protect them from being taken advantage of!
My parents had a Smith Barney acct. After my father died >20yrs ago, the advisor presented my mother with an impressive, dazzling gold-embossed folder for their "MDA-Zero" acct. with exorbitant fees that would "take good care of my mother's investments/financial security".
I was able to steer her to Vanguard. If I wasn't involved, that broker would have hit the jackpot "taking good care" of my mother.
Anyone with a financially illiterate spouse should share the OP's concern: how to protect them from being taken advantage of!
Statistics: Posted by surfinagin — Mon Apr 29, 2024 5:57 am — Replies 112 — Views 8609