From the October 2009 Issue of Senior Market Advisor Magazine
An agent told me a story of a retired client who formerly had an investment portfolio worth a little over $4 million, from which he was withdrawing $200,000 a year. By March 2009 that $4 million was worth only $1.2 million.
The agent proposed annuity solutions that would get the retirement income close to $90,000, guaranteed, but the client kept going back to his old advisor, who was telling the client not to buy the annuities and to simply wait. The agent was frustrated. "Even if that other advisor manages to return 10 percent a year, the client still runs out of money in a decade."
The safer solution
The agent couldn't understand why the client wouldn't accept the safer solution he offered, and why the client kept going back to the advisor who caused the loss.
The reason for the client's behavior was that his retirement plans had suddenly died and he was grieving. The client had lost $2.8 million and was witnessing the death of his retirement.