Confidence in Chaos: How LGBTQ+ Retirees Can Thrive in Any Market

Episode 65: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

Episode 65: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Speaker1:
Hey, it's Matt McClure of Active Wealth Management and host of Take Pride in Retirement. Are you worried about outliving your retirement savings? Nationwide's peak ten fixed indexed annuity is designed to help you feel secure and confident. With Nationwide Peak ten, you'll receive protection for your principal, keeping it safe from market downturns. Growth opportunities tied to market indexes but not invested directly in the market. Guaranteed lifetime income and protection for your loved ones with spousal income options and a death benefit. Call me now 855246 9211 or go to take pride in retirement. Com to connect with me and learn how peak ten can help you retire with confidence. Let's take pride in retirement.com. Investment advisory services offer through Brookstone Capital Management LLC BCM, a registered investment advisor. Guarantees and protections referenced are subject to the claims paying ability of Nationwide Life and Annuity insurance Company. Nationwide peak ten is issued by Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company. Columbus, Ohio. Neither nationwide nor its other entities are associated or affiliated with Active Wealth management. Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment, and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy. Welcome to Take Pride in Retirement, the podcast dedicated to helping members of the LGBTQ+ community protect and grow their hard earned money. Get set for a show full of education and insights with your host and advisor, Matt McClure.

Speaker1:
We recognize every family is unique. The goal of the show is to help you achieve financial freedom so you and your loved ones can have the retirement you've always dreamed of, a retirement you can take pride in. No matter who you are, where you're from, or who you love. So now let's start the show. Here's Matt McClure. Hello and welcome to another edition of Take Pride in Retirement. Matt McClure here with you, your host, your advisor, your friend, your pal and your confidant. Really appreciate you being a part of things this time around, as always. And, you know, thank you for, uh, you know, tuning in each and every week or if this is your first time joining the show, you know, either way, I'm glad that you're here and that you have found take pride in retirement. I help people just like you, uh, create retirement plans that reflect who you truly are, you know? And not just numbers on a page. And definitely not a one size fits all strategy. I have a fiduciary responsibility with the people that I work with each and every day to act in their best interest. Now, obviously here on the show, I provide, you know, educational advice, uh, things for educational purposes in a general way. But when I meet with you one on one, I can advise you in a fiduciary capacity, meaning, again, that I have to act in your best interest. So that's what I do each and every day as a member of the LGBTQ plus community myself, um, and I work with people of all shapes, sizes, stripes, orientations, identities, all of the things.

Speaker1:
And, um, so you can actually take part in that schedule, your complimentary consultation. You just go to take pride in retirement. It's take pride in retirement.com. And, um, you can go there, schedule a consultation. The button is right there in the upper right hand part of the home page. Uh, to do that, uh, take pride in retirement. Com or call 855246921185524692 11 is the number to call. And as I always say, no matter who you are, where you come from, who you love, how you identify, how much money you have, it does not matter to me. What matters is that you have a retirement you can take pride in no matter who you are. So that is that. And, um, got a lot to get to here on the show today we're going to talk about how to volatility proof your retirement. And you might say okay well man I can't control what goes on in the market. No you can't. And that's the exact point of the show because it's you know we're talking about minimizing risk. We're talking about building up and and maximizing your confidence. And we're also talking about how to make your money last no matter what the market does. Because it's, you know, it's not the things. And this is the way I try to to approach life as much as possible.

Speaker1:
I am human, after all, and fall short of this standard that I set for myself quite often. But it's not the things that happen to us that matter as much as how we respond to them. And so I always try to keep myself in check when I respond to something. Same thing happens. Um, and applies really when you're talking about the markets, when you're talking about things that you can't control in general, one of those things that you obviously can't control is what the market does. And so that's why I am here. And that is the the theme of the show today. There's been some volatility in the markets lately. And I mean back in April we saw a lot of volatility. We actually saw the market kind of fall off a little mini cliff back in March and April. But in this particular month we've also seen a bit of a rocky ride and all of it really because of tariffs. It's like the will they won't they tariff talk. And how big are the tariffs going to be. And are they going to be effective. And are they going to drive prices up and all the things. One thing and I used to work as a reporter on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, and I lived in New York, I worked at New York One, and I was the dayside business anchor. And for a time we had a position on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, probably one of the coolest experiences ever in my life that I got to do that day in and day out.

Speaker1:
Um, but one of the things that I learned while there was that so much of the movement in the markets just has to do with investor sentiment. And investors love certainty. And when there's uncertainty, like we've seen this year, especially with the whole tariff conversation, um, they there can be a rocky ride. So, you know, I mean, you can't obviously control what the market does. You can't control how investors feel about things and how analysts feel about things and traders on Wall Street and those people who do still work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange every day. But what you can do is control what you can control. And, you know, it's not just the markets that can get shaky. Your confidence can get shaky as well. And you know, for LGBTQ plus individuals, that uncertainty really can hit even harder. And so that's why today's episode is all about just staying grounded. When things feel off balance in your world and building a retirement plan that protects your future no matter what the market does. All right. So we're going to talk about that. We've got a lot of different points to make here on the show this time around. First though, let's get some inspiration for this conversation, shall we? We'll do that with our quote of the week.

Speaker2:
And now for some financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the week.

Speaker1:
And this time around, the quote comes from the Dalai Lama. I love this. Um, and it's actually it's a very good quote for this week. Uh, and it's a quote of the first quote we've had from an actual person that we know who said this in a long time. So it's not an anonymous quote this week. We know who you are. Dalai Lama um, but the Dalai Lama said this A calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence. So that's very important for good health. A calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence. So that's very important for good health. Thank you, Dalai Lama, because it is a great quote for this time around because this is a show, an episode of the show all about keeping a calm mind and not overreacting when the markets go kind of crazy that it's so important. It's such an important conversation to have, and it's such an important thing to keep in mind. And, you know, the Dalai Lama here says that it's so important for good health. But I would say also it's important for, yes, physical health, mental health and your financial health. And, you know, especially if you are getting closer to retirement, as we all are. But if you are closing in on what's, you know, commonly known as the retirement red zone was about 5 to 10 years before retirement or especially, you know, the first 5 to 10 ish years in retirement. It hits harder when the markets go volatile, uh, in these particular years.

Speaker1:
And so, you know, you've worked really hard to build that, that nest egg that you've saved up. You've worked really hard to save, to invest. And now that you're either approaching or already in retirement, every market dip just kind of it hits home. It feels personal, right? And for LGBTQ plus retirees who may have faced wage gaps, um, you know, marriage equality only being a thing later in life, non-traditional family structures, you know, protecting every single dollar is essential. And so the reasons that volatility hits harder now is because of those, those very things. And also, you know, you don't have like if you're in your 30s or 40s and you're investing, you've got decades to recover. It's like the dips in the market or even a bad year in the market doesn't spell doom for you and your retirement plan. If it happens when you're in your 60s, God forbid, then that really does Hit really hard because you don't have the runways. Not as long, right? You don't have time to make up before you take off into retirement. You don't have time to make up for those losses that you experience. You might just have to abort takeoff in that particular case. So you've worked really hard and you've built that nest egg. You want to protect it, right. And so you're shifting from saving to spending when you hit that retirement milestone in your life, and you start seeing market losses as lost income, because it really can be that way.

Speaker1:
If you haven't gotten a proper plan in place, you know, you say, oh, well, that's poof. That's a you know, we've had a bad month in the market. Let's say there's a bad month in the market and poof, there's a year of my retirement income gone. Well, if you've protected a portion of your portfolio. Then you can still have that income. That you can count on for the rest of your life. Because it's not invested in the market, it's invested somewhere else where it's protected. That principle is protected no matter what the market does. We'll talk more about that a little bit later on. But the thing that I want to get across, though, as we as we talk about this today, is that volatility is normal. It is the norm. It happens often. It happens more often than anybody who, you know, has invested in any way would like to admit. Probably, but it happens a lot. I mean, over the decades it has happened several times. Most of the time, the, you know, even if there's a correction, which is like a, you know, a 5 to 10% dip in market value, say, in the S&P 500. That's happened several times, but most of the time it will still end that S&P 500, according to the numbers that we've looked up here, will still end the year higher, even though it's fallen into correction territory.

Speaker1:
So 5 to 10%, down 10% really is usually the number that people use. Even if it's fallen 10%, it still ends up the year higher. So you know, when you've got that longer runway, it feels less personal. It feels less risky because you've got more time to make up for any losses. And, you know, a plan that is built with you in mind and with protection against volatility. So a volatility buffer strategy in mind really can help you weather any financial storm that may come your way. You've got to be ready for this volatility though. One thing that I would encourage you to do, um, if you don't have a plan, if you don't have a plan in place right now, period, if you're just saying, well, oh, I've got a plan, I've got a 401 or I've got a plan, I've got an IRA or I'm a federal employee, I've got, I got my TSP. I'm fine. You know, it's not really a plan. It's an account. It's a thing that you're putting money into. How do you know it's properly allocated for you? How do you know that it is in keeping with your risk tolerance? How do you know that you are going to have income for the rest of your life after you call it quits from the workforce? How are you going to generate that? You probably don't know any of those things because you don't have an actual plan.

Speaker1:
Something in writing that you can always look at and say, this is, this is great. This is golden for me. This is wonderful, this is my plan. So I know that if the market dips, I'm okay. I know that if things go haywire in in the market when I get close to retirement, I don't have to worry as much because I'm not making those big withdrawals from my accounts account. At the same time the market's going down, and we'll talk more about that in a minute as well. So if you don't have a formal plan in place give me a call 85524692 11. 855246921. One. I'd love to explore getting a plan in place for you. I think that would be wonderful. I think that you should also, if if the web is more of your thing and you want to not necessarily have to get on the phone with me and set up an appointment that way, then just go to take pride in retirement. Take pride in retirement. Com that is the website and you can click on the Schedule a consultation button in the upper right hand corner of the screen. You know you can also you can do a lot more there on the website as well. It's in the past episodes of the podcast, which you can also subscribe to wherever you get your podcasts, and I would really appreciate it if you would subscribe. Leave us a great rating there. Follow on the socials.

Speaker1:
You know, blue Sky is the latest, but I'm also on Facebook, on Instagram, on threads. I'm on all of the things on YouTube. The old YouTube machine as well. Um, and I post a lot of content to LinkedIn, so hey, connect with me on LinkedIn as well. Anyway, so back to this. If you are dreading market volatility, especially if you are close to retirement, you probably do dread market volatility. Anytime the the markets go down, you probably get a new ulcer or a few new gray hairs. I know about those, but you got to be emotionally ready right? And so a little bit of a checklist here for things to to keep in mind to keep you emotionally ready ahead of market volatility. Number one is to know your withdrawal strategy before the next market dip. Know your withdrawal strategy before the next dip. So you know a lot of people will say okay well in the in the dip I got to get out because I'm going to lose more money if I don't get out now. Well, that could be the exact opposite of what you want to do. Because the old adage goes, the old sort of cliché goes buy low, sell high. Right. Well, what are you doing? If the market dips and you get out, you're selling low. That's the opposite of what you want to do. You want to sell high. So know what you're going to do in case of a market dip before the market dip gets there.

Speaker1:
You can do that. Working with a fiduciary like myself. And you can you can do that in a way that is going to help keep you calm so that you can carry on to borrow that. The old British phrase there. Um, number two, in this checklist, review your asset allocation with an advisor. With a fiduciary like me, once again, review that asset allocation. You know, it may be that when you set up these accounts that they were allocated based on your your risk tolerance at the time, which maybe if you've been, say, you've been in your same job for a couple of decades, you set this up when you were in your 40s. Well, now you're in your 60s and you haven't done anything to change the asset allocation inside your 401 K, because maybe you didn't even know that you could do that, or you didn't know that you had other options. Maybe outside that 401 K, especially now, if you're over the age of 59.5, you've got more options outside of that 401 K that you can possibly take advantage of. So we can talk about that as well. But make sure that your asset allocation aligns with your situation now your risk tolerance. Now make sure that it makes sense for you that you're not taking too much risk. I was just I met with a couple the other day that they have about 90% there and they're he's 60.

Speaker1:
I believe in the wife is like in her mid to late 50s and they got like 90% at risk in the market, 90% of their portfolio at risk in the market. And I said you got to take that amount of risk down. You got to take a lot of this risk off the table. You know. You've got to get to a point where because you're for all the reasons that I was just talking about. You know, you've got to get that risk off the table because your runway is not as long. Um, and all of those things. So make sure that your assets are allocated in a way that makes sense for you in your situation right now, and you can work with me to do that. Another good one on this checklist, sort of this emotional readiness checklist for market volatility is to practice a 24 hour rule before making emotional money moves. A 24 hour rule. So, you know, if the market plunges one day don't just oh my God, I got to get out, you know, and freak out and do do the thing. No. Give yourself a 24 hour rule. Just have a little buffer there so you can take a step back and make a wiser decision, a calmer decision. Speaking of keeping calm, the next item on the next item up for bids. Know the next item on the list is, you know, keep a calm script that is sort of like maybe a mantra for you to sort of help you recenter during market stress.

Speaker1:
Because the market, if there's market stress, there's stress for you. So write down something that you are going to remember to say, this is something that's going to that I need to keep in mind that will keep me calm, keep me calm so that I can carry on. Um, and then, of course, remind yourself of your long term goals. Each and every week, you know. I mean, and if and if not every week, then as often as humanly possible for you, remind yourself of the long term strategy and your long term goals every week and say, am I still headed in this correct direction? And this is another place where working with a fiduciary, working with a financial advisor is something that can really, really help. So you can take that. You know, take a look under the hood and just make sure that you are still headed in the direction you need to be headed. Because if you don't do this every day, how in the world are you going to know that you're making the right decisions? You could be and you could not be. So work with a professional who does this every day. Right. So another thing, another sort of concept that we need to talk about here when talking about market volatility, especially close to or into retirement is sequence of returns risk.

Speaker1:
Now I know that term seems pretty wonky. It's like it seems like something that people would use on CNBC or Bloomberg or whatever. Um, and, and I don't know what it means. I let those words pass by, go in one ear and out the other, essentially. Um, but that is not what you need to do. You need to know what this term means. And I'm going to break it down for you here and help it help you, um, make sense of it, in other words. Um, and so and this is especially true for LGBTQ plus individuals, I think, because you may already have fewer assets on average due to this, you know, sort of a lifetime of disparity between income of your of your own and the general population. You know, there is an income gap there that exists. And so that makes sequence of returns risk even more dangerous. So and I'll get to an example of this here in just a moment. But retiring during a downturn and withdrawing funds at the same time while the market is down and still going down, that's a double whammy for you. That's a double whammy against your portfolio. It shrinks your portfolio significantly, and it can shrink it permanently because then you don't have the base there that are your. I guess you still have a base, but your base is smaller. The base of funds that that will then grow in the market, hopefully on the rebound that gets much smaller.

Speaker1:
And so the amount of money that you have left to grow just get smaller and smaller and smaller as you are making withdrawals. And at the same time the market is down. So that sequence of returns risk, right? The sequence of your returns really does matter. And the risk is that the market will be going down. You'll be seeing negative returns as you are making withdrawals early on in retirement. And that can really, really just compound any issues that you might experience. And so, you know, think back a few years to the Great Recession to to the economic crisis, 2008 and in 2007, really 2007, 2008. And, and we're going to talk about a couple of retirees who entered their retirement around that time. So let's talk about first, Linda. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Um, Linda, let's say she retired in 2008, and she immediately sees her portfolio drop and she's making withdrawals because she's got to live off of the money that she's worked so hard to save and invest over the years. Now imagine Steve, who has the exact same portfolio, exact same size portfolio, exact same investments as Linda, but he retires a couple of years later in 2010, after the market has already started rebounding. And his money lasts years longer six, seven, eight years longer potentially. So who would you rather be? I'd rather be Linda myself than than Steve. Or I'd rather be Linda.

Speaker1:
I'd rather not be Linda. I'd rather be Steve than than old Linda here, because Linda is in a bad way. Linda is seeing her portfolio immediately drop at the same time she's making those withdrawals, and so that she's really seeing a lot of damage there. So timing really does matter. And this just emphasizes now obviously you can't control again, as I said, you can't control the market does. You can't control what anybody else does but yourself. So controlling how you respond to things is super important. Timing is super important as well. Not timing the market, not timing when to get in, when to get out and all of that stuff. Because people rarely you can sometimes get it right once you know, on the buy side or on the sell side. But hey, people rarely get it right both times. And so, um, because, you know, we're people, we're not perfect. And so your retirement plan really needs buffers. You need to have buffers in place, things like cash reserves, things like guaranteed income, um, things like, you know, Carefully timed withdrawals to help avoid this risk that is often overlooked, but it's very serious. And so if you have again, if you have a guaranteed income stream in your retirement years and you know that your expenses are covered, so you have Social Security as a guaranteed income stream, and you have something else, like a personal pension through a product called a fixed indexed annuity.

Speaker1:
And we can I'll talk more about that. But that's something that you can use to turn on an income stream, guarantee that income for the rest of your life. Those couple of things can really be very powerful, because then early on in your retirement years, even if you are Linda and you're seeing the value of your portfolio go down because of market upheaval, it doesn't bother you nearly as much because, you know, you've got all of your, your, uh, eggs in, in different baskets, right? You don't have all of your eggs in the market basket. You have guaranteed income streams because you have guaranteed income streams through those couple of things that I just mentioned. And that means that you have your expenses covered and you have a buffer there. So then you don't have to be withdrawing and making that double whammy happen in your portfolio. So then you can make some adjustments to your investments, possibly get things in a better and more stable place. And then when the market starts to recover, then you can reap the benefits of that. But if you get out when the market hits bottom or is near bottom, because sometimes the bottom is hard to see. Um, then you lock in those losses that you've experienced. Right. You miss out on the upside growth. So if that sounds like something that bothers you, that you want to avoid that? You saying that I gotta. I don't know what to do or how to respond to this.

Speaker1:
If this were to happen in the market, if this were to happen with my portfolio, give me a call 85524692 11 (855) 246-9211. You can also go to the website take Pride in retirement.com. Now one of the things that that I often will say and I got several calls about this during, you know, late March into April is um, you know, when the market does have a period of upheaval, as it did at that time. I had to sort of be in addition to financial advisor, had to sort of be therapist for people a little bit because people do freak out. And you know what? It's not it's a natural thing to freak out about your investments during a time of market upheaval. It's not like it's not like I'm going to sit here and say, you should have no emotions whatsoever. Be an emotionless person. Now you have emotions. You have feelings you have. You're a person. You have all of those things. But you need to keep your cool during periods of market volatility. And, you know, LGBTQ folks often face higher levels of stress, higher levels of anxiety, and the financial world can really seem intimidating at the same time. But you don't want to have that emotion spill over into your investment life, right? Emotional investing can really lead to a lot of things that you want to avoid. Panic selling. Chasing hot trends. Overconfidence during bull markets.

Speaker1:
Freezing when action is actually needed. Those are things that you want to avoid. And so those are some of the biggest mistakes that I actually see people make. Panic selling during a dip, first of all, is not a good thing. I was trying to think of a more creative way to say it. It's not good. It's not what you want to do. Um, again, for a lot of the reasons that I've already mentioned and more, it's not a good thing. Sitting in cash too long, that's also not a good thing. That's one of the big mistakes that I see people make. Um, because then, you know, yeah, you you miss out on the losses, but you also miss out on the growth. And there are alternatives to just sitting in cash, especially if the cash is in, you know, just a regular old savings account at the bank or if it's if it's under your mattress, God forbid, it's not doing anything for anybody there. Uh, sure. You may not lose it unless there is, again, God forbid, a house fire or something like that. But you would, um, you're not seeing any gains. You're you're you're losing money just by sitting there because it's definitely not keeping up with inflation anywhere close to it. It's just sitting there not doing a thing. And so you want your money to be working as hard for you as you've worked for it, not just sitting around being lazy. Right.

Speaker1:
Um, you know, chasing, chasing those hot trends as well. I mean, if you and this also kind of goes hand in hand with what I said about, um, overconfidence during bull markets as well, chasing those hot trends if the markets are way up, like, I mean, Nvidia it has been a hot stock for a while. Um, and sure, we have some investments that are, uh, you know, in Nvidia, but it's not like, oh, let's go all in on Nvidia because it's, you know, all AI and, and um, they've got so much invested in that technology, and AI is really hot. So let's do Nvidia and let's go all in on technology and mostly in Nvidia. No. Um, you want to say balance. Do you want to do all the things. So because you know, emotions can get the best of you not only when the markets are down but when the markets are up. And so you don't want to be overconfident. You don't want to be chasing those hot stocks because you can make some big mistakes when you do that. And then, you know, another thing that people do is make big changes. Without a plan in place and without consultation with a financial advisor. Um, I think that you need to be speaking with an advisor during times of market upheaval. I think that it's always a good idea to, as I said earlier, take a step back, maybe give yourself that 24 hour sort of waiting period, breathing period to kind of Regroup before you make any big changes.

Speaker1:
And the most important thing is to have a plan in place to begin with so that you know if there's market volatility. This is what I do or if there's market volatility, I don't need to worry because I've got x y, z that's protected from the market volatility. So ask yourself these questions. Have you made an investment decision based on fear. If you have give me a call or go to the website. Have you left money on the sidelines just waiting for the right time and then the right time never comes? If you've done that, yeah, give me a call or go to the website. Take pride in retirement. Have you jumped into a hot stock or crypto only to find yourself riding an even scarier roller coaster? Then give me a call. Have you changed your portfolio without making sure that the new thing that you have done is aligned with your long term goals? If you've done that 85524692 11, that's the only number you need to dial. 85524692 11. Go to take pride in retirement and set up a consultation. And by the way, I don't think I've even mentioned this yet. Shame on me. The consultation is 100% free. It's free of any cost. It's free of any obligation. It costs you nothing to get more. Peace of mind and to get, you know, shown the way when it comes to your investments.

Speaker1:
If I can do better for you, I will absolutely do better for you. I will show you that plan. I'll compare it to where you are now, where you're headed now. We'll map out the performance of what you have versus the projected performance of what we will propose for you in compare the two and and you make the decision. And if you want to make any changes to that plan, you absolutely can will work in tandem to do that. All right. Take pride in retirement. Again the consultation free of any cost or any obligation. So I've talked about the emotional side. Right. And and sort of the, the I don't know, more abstract thing of keeping calm, making sure you carry on all the things like that. Um, so how do you actually go about protecting your portfolio from big market swings? A few things that you can do. Number one, you know, you've heard about the three rules of investing, right? Diversify diversify diversify. That's very true. Diversify across asset classes. Don't put all of your eggs in one basket. I was talking about technology stocks a minute ago. If you have all of your stuff in technology stocks, remember back early 2000 when the.com bubble burst? First people who were all in, they had all their eggs in that basket. Well, they lost the eggs and the basket as well. So you don't want to do that. You want to be diversified across asset classes.

Speaker1:
You want to keep that good balance in your portfolio. And speaking of balance, you want to rebalance regularly. You know you can start out with one particular asset allocation. Say it's, you know, 40% here 40% there 20% here. And then that gets as the market changes and moves, the value of the shares that you own will change. And so that ratio can get off can go kind of wonky. And so that when that happens you'll want to make sure that you rebalance. And you want to just check on a regular basis, make sure that you are balanced in the way that you want to be and that aligns with your goals. Keep your portfolio aligned with your goals. This is again where working with a financial professional, a financial advisor like myself who works in a fiduciary capacity. And again, that means I have to work in your best interests. Doing that can mean so, so much and can really help you that that can give you peace of mind in and of itself. Right. And knowing that you're working with someone who does this every day and who is bound to work with you in a fiduciary capacity, that that means that, you know, they're going to keep your best interests in mind. One of the things that you won't hear a lot of financial advisors or financial people on radio or podcast talk about, because it can seem like a dirty word in the financial industry.

Speaker1:
And that is guarantee. Guarantee, yes. Add guarantees to your portfolio. Get guaranteed income that you can never outlive. Get guarantees as far as protection of your principal and upside growth potential. And you can do that with something like a fixed indexed annuity. I've mentioned it a couple of times. There are fixed indexed annuities out there that do provide principal protection growth that is linked to a market index but not directly invested in the market. So you're protected against market risk. There's no downside risk there. There's upside potential but no downside risk. And then. On the income side, you get to a point in your life where you say, okay, I'm ready to start taking income from this annuity. And that's really what an annuity is, right? It's an income vehicle for you. You turn on that income, and then that income is guaranteed for the rest of your life. No matter how long that you live to 150, that income will be coming just like clockwork. You live to be 95. You live to be 90. You live to be 102. You know 184. That income will be there for the rest of your life. You don't ever have to worry about it running out. So income, income stability rather super, super important. And also, you know, just write down your plan, have a written plan. And you know, when you work with, with me or a fiduciary advisor, um, you can have that plan, you know, written down for you and you can work if you're working with the right person.

Speaker1:
And I'll use this phrase again in tandem to reminds me of wicked in tandem. To get to that place where you've got this plan in writing that you are comfortable with, and that makes you feel confident. And, you know, I was talking a moment ago about rebalancing regularly. There's actually a good stat about that. It's from a Vanguard report that says annual rebalancing actually reduces portfolio volatility by up to 20%. That's peace of mind. And that's actually measurable. You know, it's something that you can can actually see and feel and touch and do all the things to. Right. So again take pride in retirement. Com is the website. If any of this sounds like it is good to you. Um downturns you know, in the markets are not only things that can be scary. There are things that can also offer opportunity. You know, they can offer discounts. Really. You know, stocks are on sale during those time periods. And so, um, you know, there's a there's a good quote, actually, by Warren Buffett as well, where he says, you know, like a true investor actually welcomes market volatility, because that means that solid companies are going to be offered at a deep discount. That's to paraphrase, but that's essentially what he says. And it's very true. And you can use volatility to your advantage. One of the ways is to rebalance your portfolio like I was just talking about while prices are low, because you may be able to get some some good deals that are that are out there during that time.

Speaker1:
You can also harvest tax losses to lower your future bill. Work with a tax professional to to take care of that kind of thing. Convert pre-tax money to a Roth at a discount potentially as well. If the markets are down you're getting good deals, as I say on some of those shares that may have been priced much higher not that long ago. That could be poised to recover. And so you'll want to take advantage of that. And then, you know, revisit your risk tolerance. Are you a few years older now than you used to be when you set up XYZ account or asset allocation or whatever and or have your priorities changed too. That's another thing too to consider because as we do age, our priorities do change. Are you following? In general, the rule of 100, for example, that has to do with your risk tolerance because it is sort of a good measurable kind of, you know, idea to give you a good idea of where your your money should be. You know, I mean, you basically take 100, you subtract your age from it. The number that's left over is the percentage of your assets that should be at risk in the market. That's generally the rule of 100. So if you're age 60 take 100.

Speaker1:
You subtract 60. You should have 40% at risk in the market. And like I was saying, I was talking to that couple who was one of them is 60 at about 90% at risk in the market. Not a good place to be when you're getting closer to retirement. The idea there, of course, is as you age, the amount of the money that you have that's at risk and the market gets less and less and less. So revisit that risk tolerance. Abide by that rule of 100 if that is a good thing for you. Maybe it's not. Maybe you want more growth later on and you're willing to take some more risks just because that's the way that you are. Or you maybe you have the assets to do that as well. With a certain amount of your portfolio, take a little bit more risk. Sure. Let's talk about that. Go to take pride in retirement and we'll get started on your plan. And if you can withstand some more risk absolutely. We'll, we'll we'll look at that and we'll map it out for you. And I think a good thing to ask too, it's made me think of this, um, because, you know, I get random ideas in my mind sometimes. And so I share them with you, the listeners of Take Pride in Retirement, not all of my random ideas, because that would just be kind of crazy. And and yeah, you'd wonder what's going on in that mind.

Speaker1:
But one of the things to to. To ask about, you know, a volatile time in the market and and maybe some losses in your own investments is what can I do because this happened. Ask yourself that question. Ask what can I do because this happened. Don't ask why did this happen to me? Because then you're just like, you know, you get in that place where it's just like, woe is me. And trust me, I've been there. But you get into that place where you're just like, woe is me, I can't. Um, imagine why this happened to me. And I'm just going to sit in my, like, sorrow and and upset about it. You want to make positive change. You want to say, what can I do now? Because this happened, this thing has happened that I could not control. Now, what I can control is my response to it. So what am I going to do? What am I going to do to make it better? That's a great, great question to ask yourself. And so, you know, final thing I'm going to say here about this is the importance of working with someone who understands you cannot be overstated. There is a lot of power. There's a lot of peace of mind in that. There's a lot of peace of mind and power in a written plan and affirming support from an advisor or a professional, somebody who understands you, your values, your loved ones, your legacy.

Speaker1:
You know, all of that stuff changes. Everything changes in life. But when you start out from a place of not really having to explain yourself and not really living in kind of from a fearful place of, is this person going to get me? Um, because chances are, yeah, I do. Like obviously we're different people, but we're members of the same community. So talk to me. You know, just be yourself. You know, I like to be myself. So you be yourself, and we'll get along great. I'm sure. So, you know, a written plan from someone who really understands you and gets you and takes the time to get to know you, really answers questions before they're even asked. Where will my income come from? Well, one of the ways, of course, is that guaranteed income stream that we were talking about earlier with a fixed indexed annuity or something like it. And so we answer those questions before you even ask, how should I invest now? I'll answer that question really before you even ask it. When should I claim Social Security? This is one thing that I haven't even mentioned yet in the show is is the fact that while I did mention Social Security earlier, but not the fact that they actually give you a Social Security maximization report, I'll do that free of charge as part of our analysis and all the different plans and things that will run for you.

Speaker1:
This by itself is about a $350 value provided free of charge. It's an RSA roadmap. I am a registered Social Security analyst, so that's RSA. We'll provide this roadmap for you that will that will map out the best time for you, the optimal time for you to start taking Social Security. And what we'll do is then work that into your overall plan. Right. So when should I claim my Social Security? You'll get that question and answered likely before you even ask it. How can I reduce my taxes in the future? We'll look at that as well, perhaps through something like a Roth conversion, so that you can have money that grows tax free, and then the withdrawals are tax free as well. And then what do I do when things get scary? Hopefully it's called my advisor. And so, you know, I mean, if you're ready to feel more confident about your retirement plan, no matter what happens in the market or wherever else, call me 85524692 11 (855) 246-9211. Go to the website. Take pride in retirement.com schedule. You know a volatility stress test right I'll get that working for you and see how we can build a strategy that works in bull markets, bear markets, everything in between. And truth of the matter is, is that people in the LGBTQ plus community, all of us, have overcome a lot to get to the point where we are now in our lives. And so now let's make sure that your retirement plan reflects that resilience.

Speaker1:
Let's make sure that your retirement plan reflects your dreams. Let's make sure that your retirement plan reflects your truth. Let's make sure that it reflects you, your goals, your aspirations. Pride does not stop at retirement. I want you to have a retirement you can take pride in. And it starts with living fully and freely and confidently each and every day. So I have a retirement plan that you can have that confidence in, that you can take pride in as well. So that is what I would encourage you to do. Once again, take pride in retirement. As the website. The consultation is free of any cost and any obligation at all. Well, that's going to do it for this edition of the show. I hope you've enjoyed it. Hope you've gotten something from it again. Reach out. Anytime I am here, I will respond, I promise. I am a real human being. I'm not like, you know, I or anything like that. At least not yet. Uh, the way things are going. No, I'm just kidding. But, um. Reach out. I would be glad to talk to you and help you through any market volatility that might happen, and help you keep calm and carry on when it comes to your retirement investments. Thanks so much for being a part of the show this time around. And until next time, take pride in yourselves and take care of each other. We'll see you.

Speaker3:
Then. Thanks for listening to Take Pride in Retirement. Members of the LGBTQ+ community deserve to work with a fiduciary financial advisor who puts their needs first to schedule a free, no obligation consultation with Matt McClure and the team at Active Wealth Management. Call (855) 246-9211 or go online to take pride in retirement investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, BCM, a registered investment Advisor, BCM and Active Wealth Management Incorporated are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents. Matt McClure and Active Wealth Management are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other government agency. When planning for retirement, trust is everything, and that's just one way. Nationwide's peak ten fixed index annuity stands out with nationwide peak ten. You will benefit from protection for your principal, shielding your initial investment from market downturns. Growth opportunities linked to market performance. Without the risk of direct market exposure and a guaranteed income stream you can never outlive. Nationwide's reputation for reliability means you can plan for tomorrow and have confidence today. Call us now at (855) 246-9211 or go to take pride in retirement, to connect with an advisor and learn how pectin can help secure your financial future.

Speaker1:
Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, BCM, a registered investment advisor. Guarantees and protections referenced are subject to the claims paying ability of Nationwide life and annuity insurance company. Nationwide pick ten is issued by Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company. Columbus, Ohio. Neither nationwide nor its other entities are associated or affiliated with Active Wealth Management. Any comments regarding safe and secure investments and guaranteed income streams refer only to fixed insurance products. They do not in any way refer to investment advisory products. Rates and guarantees provided by insurance products and annuities are subject to the financial strength of the issuing insurance company, not guaranteed by any bank or the FDIC. Registered investment advisors and investment advisor representatives act as fiduciaries for all of our investment management clients. We have an obligation to act in the best interest of our clients and to make full disclosures of any conflicts of interest. Please refer to our firm brochure, the ADV two, item four for additional information.

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